U.S. reduces countervailing duty rates on Chinese tire importers

The U.S. Department of Commerce has revised countervailing duties on several Chinese passenger and light truck tire importers, reducing duties after finding errors in its earlier calculations.

Commerce issued countervailing duty rates March 16 on Chinese passenger and light truck tire imports for a period of review between Dec. 1, 2014, and Dec. 31, 2015. The rates were 20.68 percent for Giti Tire Global Trading Pte. Ltd. and several allied companies including Giti Tire (China) Global Investment Co. Ltd. and Giti Tire (U.S.A.) Ltd.; 16.16 percent for Cooper (Kunshan) Tire Co. Ltd.; 119.46 percent for Zhongce Rubber Group Co. Ltd.; and 19.13 percent for non-selected companies under review.

On March 28, Giti filed a petition with Commerce, claiming the agency made ministerial errors in calculating the duties.

Specifically, Giti said Commerce had miscalculated the sales denominator for Giti Tire Global Investment; miscalculated government grants to Giti and others; and misapplied the Adverse Facts Available Rate to the Export Buyer's Credits program.Commerce found that it had committed those errors, and in a May 2 Federal Register notice announced the following revised rates:

Giti: 15.75 percent.

Cooper: 15.10 percent.

Zhongce: 114.48 percent.

Non-selected companies under review: 15.53 percent.

In the same notice, Commerce also corrected a clerical error in regards to Shandong Shuangwang Rubber Co. Ltd. In the March 16 notice, the agency had accidentally misspelled the company's name as "Shangong."