Importing low-cost, low-quality tires from China isn't an issue of isolation for the U.S. The European Retread Association, Bipaver, says after five years of Chinese truck tires being dumped in Europe, "market conditions have worsened quickly over the last year mainly due to an increase of anti-dumping regulations in neighboring continents."
The Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau (TRIB) is an associate member of Bipaver, and TRIB says it has been working with them and their member companies "to understand and tackle the threats to the retread industry in the United States and around the world from low-quality, low-cost imported tires from China."
In a press release, Bipaver outlines the steps it has taken to protect small businesses operating in the retread industry across Europe and the frustrations they have faced.
"Bipaver represents the interests of the European Independent tire retread industry; more than 400 small to medium enterprise (SME) companies European wide and where more than 10,000 people are employed. Over the last five years the Chinese tire industry has been dumping truck tires in the European market. Today the prices of most of their products sold in the EU-28 have fallen below the manufacturing costs of retreaded truck tires. Market conditions have worsened quickly over the last year mainly due to an increase of anti-dumping regulations in neighboring continents.
"In a total European market of roughly 17 million truck tires, cheap imports have developed over the last five years from 1 million to approximately 5 million tires, whilst retreading has experienced a decrease from 6 million to ca. 4 million truck tires. The European replacement market represents roughly 10 million truck tires.
"Retreaded truck tires provide sustainability to the life cycle of truck tires, essential to the circular economy, equally providing a major improvement of the carbon footprint, saving raw materials and decreasing waste by replacing the tread of the used tire. Tire retreading is performed under strict legislation and technical regulations. In general, retreading companies have a limited economic trading range of a few hundred kilometres and are therefore limited to trade within the EU-28.
"After more than a year asking the Directorate-General Trade to consider our case and presenting several solutions, both technical and legislative, it has become clear that the European Commission is not able to defend our industry due to the lack of legislation for this specific situation within the retread industry. At a time when the EU is discussing opening even further the EU market to imports from diverse exporting countries and when its citizens are questioning the European project, the retreading industry cannot understand the added value of a European trade policy if they are not able to defend their own SME industries.
"Bipaver strongly advises Commissioner Cecilia Malmström to reassess what the EU can or cannot do in the coming weeks in order to establish a level playing field and safeguard our industry and its SMEs in particular."
