The European Commission initiated an investigation on Wednesday (May 21) to determine whether anti-dumping measures should be implemented on passenger car and light truck tires imported from China. This investigation comes in response to a complaint from the European tire industry, alleging that Chinese dumping of imported products has harmed the interests of EU tire manufacturers.
If the investigation confirms that the EU tire industry has suffered harm or faces a threat of harm due to Chinese dumping of imported products, the Commission may impose anti-dumping duties on these imports, provided that it serves the interests of the European Union.
The statement also mentioned that the investigation should be completed within 14 months of its initiation. If dumping and resulting harm are preliminarily established, provisional anti-dumping measures can be implemented within 8 months.
Since 2018, the EU has imposed anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures on bus and truck tires imported from China. The European Tire Manufacturers Association filed a complaint at that time, accusing Chinese tire companies of undercutting market prices through government subsidies and low-cost dumping strategies, causing significant harm to the EU local industry.
According to official EU data, the import volume of bus and truck tires from China surged from 1.4 million units in 2010 to 4.42 million units in 2016, with market share rising from 17.1% to 21.3%.
In response to this situation, the European Commission launched an investigation in August 2017, confirming that Chinese tire companies benefited from direct funding by the Chinese government, import duty exemptions, preferential loans, and VAT exemptions, among other subsidies. These subsidies were deemed to create unfair competitive advantages.
The tire industry in the EU directly employs 75,000 people across 14 member states and supports the EU’s large automotive industry. In 2024, the market value of passenger car and light truck tires in the EU was estimated to exceed 18 billion euros (approximately 20.4 billion dollars).