Few things make sense in Washington, D.C., these days.
But one thing that does make sense — and in turn should benefit many stakeholders in the tire and rubber industry — is recently introduced bipartisan legislation called the Retreaded Truck Tire Jobs, Supply Chain Security and Sustainability Act of 2024.If enacted, the bills — one in the Senate and a second in the House of Representatives — would provide those who purchase retreaded truck tires manufactured in the U.S. with a tax credit of 30% or $30, whichever is lower, per purchase, to be used toward offsetting their federal income-tax liability.
The legislation, according to those who support it, would promote economic development while strengthening the U.S. supply chain by lowering the cost of retreads.
The goal not only is to boost the U.S. retread industry but also increase sales of premium truck tires suitable for retreading. As value-tier truck tires manufactured abroad increase in popularity, backers of the bill say those tires often are discarded after one use.
The bill's sponsors — Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and U.S. Reps. Darin LaHood, R-Ill., and Emilia Sykes, D-Ohio — said they believe more customers would be inclined to purchase higher-priced new tires that can be retreaded, rather than buy a single-use import unsuitable for retreading.
The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA), Tire Industry Association (TIA) and Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau (TRIB) support the bill strongly.
USTMA CEO and President Anne Forristall Luke said the bills level the playing field for U.S. tire companies "and shift the business model back in favor of retreading, a highly effective way to reuse tires with proven economic and environmental benefits."
The U.S. retreading industry employs more than 51,000 and supports more than 268,000 jobs in the U.S. tire industry, according to the 2023 report, "State of Retread Tires in the U.S. and Canada." The number of retreading facilities in the U.S. has dropped to around 500 in 2023 from more than 3,000 in 1982, the study reports.
This bill would be a positive step forward for the tire industry as a whole, and for retreading in particular, a process that has fought public misconceptions for decades.
But, as with most good ideas in Washington, this legislation is a long drive away from becoming law.
With elections looming, and control of both chambers of Congress as well as the White House in question, it will be a slog for this legislation to get passed.
A nearly identical bill proposed in 2022 by then Ohio U.S. Congressman Tim Ryan went nowhere.
Let's hope the bill is taken up soon, or is at least revived once the election ends and a new Congress is sworn in.
"This will mean more cars and trucks driving on American roads with American tires, made and retreaded by American workers," Brown said.
Sykes, who touted the plan at a press conference held at the Bridgestone Americas Technology Center in Akron, called the legislation "good for both the economy and the environment, and it will protect thousands of good-paying manufacturing jobs here at home."
LaHood agrees with his Democratic co-sponsors: "This commonsense, bipartisan bill will incentivize the purchase of American-made tires and create jobs in communities across the country."
