Letter to Hon. Jason Kearns, Chairman of International Trade Commission - Warner, Brown, Portman, Colleagues Stand Up for American Tire Workers, Urge Trade Commission to Ensure U.S. Trade Remedy Laws Are Fully Enforced

Letter

Dear Chairman Kearns:

We write on behalf of U.S. passenger vehicle and lightweight tire (PVLT) manufacturers and their workers who face ongoing challenges from unfairly traded tire imports in the above referenced cases and to reiterate our support for strong enforcement of U.S. trade remedy laws.

The U.S. tire industry has been marked by unfair trade from foreign competitors for years. In 2009, President Obama imposed Section 421 tariffs on Chinese tire imports to address the systemic dumping of tires in the U.S. market. After the tariffs expired, USW tire-producing members again faced unfair competition, and the union filed antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty petitions in 2014. AD and CVD orders have been in place on certain Chinese PVLT imports since. Unfortunately, other foreign competitors are employing unfair practices to gain market share in the U.S. while Chinese tire imports face additional duties. As a result, the USW union recently filed the AD and CVD petitions against tire producers in Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

U.S. trade remedy laws are intended to provide relief to U.S. companies and their workers when they are undermined by unfairly traded imports. We urge you to give full and fair consideration to the USW petitions in these cases and to ensure U.S. trade remedy laws are fully enforced.

Sincerely,