August 15, 2008
News Release 08-080
Inv. Nos. 701-TA-448 and 731-TA-1117 (Final)
Contact: Peg O'Laughlin, 202-205-1819

The United States International Trade Commission (ITC) today determined that a U.S. industry is materially injured by reason of imports of certain off-the-road tires from China that the U.S. Department of Commerce has determined are subsidized and sold in the United States at less than fair value.

Chairman Shara L. Aranoff and Commissioners Deanna Tanner Okun, Charlotte R. Lane, Irving A. Williamson, and Dean A. Pinkert voted in the affirmative. Vice Chairman Daniel R. Pearson voted in the negative.

As a result of the Commission's affirmative determinations, the Department of Commerce will issue a countervailing duty order and an antidumping duty order on imports of these products from China.

The Commerce Department previously made an affirmative critical circumstances determination in its antidumping duty investigation with regard to these imports from the People's Republic of China entity. Therefore, the Commissioners who made an affirmative injury determination today are required to determine whether these imports are likely to undermine seriously the remedial effect of the antidumping duty order Commerce will issue. Chairman Aranoff and Commissioners Okun, Lane, Williamson, and Pinkert made negative determinations with regard to critical circumstances in this investigation. As a result, the antidumping duty order concerning these imports will not apply to goods that entered the United States from China prior to February 20, 2008, the date of the Department of Commerce's affirmative preliminary determination.

The Commission's public report Certain Off-the-Road Tires from China (Investigation Nos. 701-TA-448 and 731-TA-1117 (Final), USITC Publication 4031, August 2008) will contain the views of the Commission and information developed during the investigations.

Copies may be obtained after September 10, 2008, by emailing pubrequest@usitc.gov, calling 202-205-2000, or by writing the Office of the Secretary, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436. Requests may also be made by fax to 202-205-2104.

Product Description:

Certain off-the-road (OTR) tires are new pneumatic tires exclusively designed for off-the-road and off-highway use. Subject OTR tires are typically found on (1) agricultural and forestry equipment (farm tractors and harvesters, agricultural implements, and logging equipment, for example); (2) construction equipment (earthmover articulated dump trucks, front end loaders, and dozers, for example; and (3) industrial equipment (mining vehicles, counterbalanced lift trucks and skid steer/mini-loaders, for example). Subject OTR tires generally, but not exclusively, range in rim diameter from 8 inches to 54 inches; however, OTR tires used for mining and construction vehicles and equipment having rim diameters equal to or exceeding 39 inches are excluded from the scope. Also excluded are aircraft tires, all-terrain vehicle (ATV) tires, and tires used for turf, lawn and garden, golf and trailer applications. All on-the-road vehicle tires (passenger cars, trucks, buses, mobile homes, trailers, motorcycles, and bicycles, for example) are excluded.

Status of Proceedings:

1. Types of investigations:  Final antidumping and countervailing duty.
2. Petitioners: Titan Tire Corporation, Des Moines, IA, and The United Steel, Paper and 
   Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers
   International Union, AFL-CIO-CLC, Pittsburgh, PA.
3. Investigations instituted by USITC: June 18, 2007.
4. Hearing: July 8 and 9, 2008.
5. USITC vote: August 15, 2008.
6. USITC notification of Department of Commerce: August 28, 2008.     

U.S. Industry:

1. Number of U.S. firms involved in production of certain OTRs in 2007: 7.
2. Production volume is concentrated in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South
   Carolina, and Tennessee.
3. Employment of production and related workers in 2007: 3,856.
4. U.S. producers' U.S. shipments in 2007: $1.0 billion.
5. U.S. apparent consumption in 2007: $1.8 billion.
6. Ratio of quantity of total imports to U.S. apparent consumption in 2007: 40.8 percent.

U.S. Imports:
1. Quantity of subject imports in 2007: 1.4 million tires.
2. Value of subject imports in 2007: $187 million.