WASHINGTON—The Commerce Department's decision to impose countervailing duties on passenger and light truck tires from China exempts ST-type trailer tires and other speed-limited specialty tires.
The exemption—sought by the National Association of Trailer Manufacturers (NATM) and Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA) with the support of more than a dozen distributors of specialty trailer tires—is specific in that it requires tires to be considered have:
c The size designation molded into the sidewall must be listed in the ST sections of the Tire and Rim Association (TRA) Year Book;
c The designation “ST” must be molded into the tire's sidewall as part of the size designation;
c The tire incorporates a warning, prominently molded on the sidewall, that the tire is “For Trailer Service Only” or “For Trailer Use Only”;
c The load index molded on the tire's sidewall meets or exceeds those load indexes listed in the TRA Year Book for the relevant ST tire size; and
c The tire's speed rating is molded on the sidewall, indicating the rated speed in mph or a letter rating as listed by TRA, and the rated speed does not exceed 81 mph or an “M” rating.
The RVIA and others asked Commerce to consider dropping the last of these requirements because many imported ST tires do not have such speed rating marks molded into the sidewall and thus would be subject to possible antidumping and countervailing duties, the RVIA said. Commerce did not grant this request, however.
The ruling also exempts racing tires, recycled or retreaded tires, non-pneumatic tires, temporary-use spares (provided they're marked with a “T” speed rating) and tires “designed and marketed exclusively for off-road use”—predominantly ATV, agricultural, industrial, etc.