8th Chinese OTR tire maker appeals import duties

NEW YORK — Chinese OTR tire manufacturer Weihai Zhongwei Rubber Co. Ltd. has appealed the recent antidumping duty order by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the eighth such company to do so.

Meanwhile, Titan Tire Corp. and the United Steelworkers union — the original plaintiffs in the Chinese OTR tire case — filed documents with the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) in New York, saying they intend to contest certain aspects of the Commerce countervailing and antidumping determinations issued on April 18 and 21 of this year.

Wehei City, China-based Weihai Zhongwei produces and sells under the HaulMax, SolidTrac, Zowin and ZW brands.

In appealing Commerce's rulings, Weihai joins Aeolus Tyre Co. Ltd., Guizhou Tyre Co. Ltd., Qingdao Free Trade Zone Full-World International Trading Co. Ltd., Qingdao Qihang Tyre Co. Ltd., Tianjin United Tire & Rubber International Co. Ltd., Trelleborg Wheel Systems (Xingtai) Co. Ltd. and Xuzhou Xugong Tyres Co. Ltd.

Weihai's May 19 complaint to the CIT takes issue with the 33.58-percent antidumping duty Commerce levied against the company for the period between Sept. 1, 2014 and Aug. 31, 2015. That amount was the "Separate Rate" level the agency calculated for a number of Chinese OTR tire producers.

Commerce based that rate on the weighted average dumping rate it calculated for one of the two mandatory respondent during the antidumping review, Xuzhou Xugong, according to the Weihai complaint.

In the calculation of Xuzhou Xugong's rate, Commerce deducted from the U.S. price the difference between the 17-percent value-added tax in China and the standard merchandise rebate rate of 9 percent, Weihai said.

The agency's treatment of VAT in calculating Xuzhou Xugong's rate was not supported by substantial evidence, and neither was its decision that Guizhou, the other mandatory respondent, was not entitled to a separate rate, according to Weihai.

"Since the dumping rate for Weihai Zhongwei was based upon the average rates calculated for the mandatory respondents,...Commerce's average dumping rate assigned to exporters entitled to separate rate treatment, including Weihai Zhongwei, is likewise contrary to law and not supported by substantial evidence," Weihai said.

Titan and the USW filed documents with the CIT May 18, stating that they intend to contest certain portions of Commerce's countervailing and antidumping investigations, and announcing the attorneys who would appear before the court on their behalf.

Parties to Commerce investigations have the right to raise potential ministerial errors 30 days after a determination if the agency does not do so itself, a USW spokesman said.