China's tire exports fell in 2015

China’s tire exports in 2015 fell 4 percent in volume and 16 percent in value — declines the China Rubber Industry Association (CRIA) attributed primarily to the anti-dumping duties imposed by the U.S.

Export volume fell to 5.4 million metric tons and to $13.7 billion in value, CRIA said, compared with 13- and 2- percent rises in volume and value, respectively, in 2014.

CRIA General Secretary Xu Wenying said the difference in the rates of change in volume vs. value indicates a continuing price war. She made her remarks at the 2016 China Rubber Conference in Qingdao this March.The U.S. anti-dumping duties were cited as reasons for a near halving of China’s passenger tire export last year in both volume and value to 314,000 tons and $874 million, respectively.

Truck and bus tire exports to the U.S. also decreased by 10 percent in volume to 590,000 tons and 21 percent in value to $1.5 billion. These data conflict, however, with U.S. Department of Commerce statistics, which show imports from China were up in 2015 by 6.3 percent, to 8.9 million units valued at about $1.1 billion.

“The rate of passenger car tire export to the U.S on China’s such exports overall dropped from 29 percent in 2014 to 18 percent last year,” Ms. Xu said, “and the same thing is likely to happen to truck and bus tires” in light of the ongoing anti-dumping probe.

The CRIA secretary general went on to voice concerns about possible anti-dumping measures in other global regions, including Europe, and explained how the association was working to address these issues.