AKRON — The verdict, finally, is in. It's a 25% tariff on passenger and light truck tires and — for now — 10% on all other tire types, with wholesale price hikes to follow.
Following the series of import-tariff declarations announced — and later revised/paused by the Trump administration over the past 10 days — tire importers/distributors of imported tires have begun dealing with the reality that the U.S. will soon begin placing 25% tariffs on passenger and light truck tires (under the Section 232 automotive/auto parts tariffs) and has started charging 10% reciprocal tariffs on nearly all other tire types, including medium truck/bus, farm/forestry, off-highway, industrial, solid, motorcycle, etc.
In addition, the majority of those contacted by Tire Business say it is their understanding that the new tariffs — both the automotive and reciprocal — are being applied in addition to any existing import duties, such as antidumping and/or countervailing.
The effective imposition date of the Section 232 tariffs on auto parts will be NO LATER than May 3, according to the White House. Officials with Customs & Border Patrol could set the date earlier.
The first domino, in terms of industry reaction to the elevated tariffs, has fallen, as Sumitomo Rubber North America announced April 10 it plans to raise prices on May 1 by 25% on "select" passenger and light truck tires and 10% on medium truck/bus and motorcycle tires, in response to the Section 232 and reciprocal tariffs being imposed by the U.S.
The increases are "pending further U.S. government announcements."
SRNA said it will update the Minimum Advertised Pricing program to reflect the changes. The firm's sales teams will provide details of the increase to customers.
For those trying to keep their scorecards up to date, the 25% increase on P/LT tires are because such products fall under the Section 232 definition of vehicles that went into effect on April 5 and are part of the Trump administration's efforts to drive investment in the domestic vehicle-manufacturing industry.
Apparently exempted from this tariff would be parts that comply with the rules for tariff-free trade under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) until such time that the Commerce Department establishes a process to apply it only to the components' non-U.S. content, according to the executive order.
After originally announcing broad reciprocal import tariffs on April 3 on nearly every country (except Canada and Mexico), Trump paused implementation for 90 days of those greatly elevated tariffs on April 9 and instead instituted the blanket 10% tariff.
Most companies impacted by the tariffs said their interpretation is that the 10% would be in addition to any existing tariffs.
In the case of P/LT tires, the U.S. has elevated antidumping and/or countervailing duties on products from China, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
In the case of medium truck/bus tires, the U.S. already has elevated antidumping tariffs on such products from Thailand and China, as well as on off-highway tires from India.
Imports represent up to 75% of the U.S. tire aftermarket, according to Tire Business' analysis of available U.S. Commerce Department and U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association data. That varies by category but can represent nearly 100% in some cases (specialty trailer tires, for example).
Overall the U.S. imported $19 billion worth of tires last year, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The value of imports increased by 2.4% in 2024 over 2023 and was up 7.2% over the last two years.
Thailand was No. 1 supplier of tires last year to the U.S. with an import value of $3.6 billion, ahead of Mexico ($2.25 billion), Canada ($1.87 billion), Japan ($1.49 billion) and Vietnam (1.39 billion).
The U.S.'s other major trading partners — Mexico and Canada — earlier were hit with 25% tariffs, although to what extent they apply to certain automotive components under the U.S-Canada-Mexico Trade Agreement is unclear.