DOC Miscalculation Raises Tariffs on Truck Tires From China
The U.S. Department of Commerce has admitted to a miscalculation in its preliminary anti-dumping tariff rate for truck and bus tires imported from China.
As a result, the rates of every manufacturer and importer are increasing to 30.36% – nearly 10 points higher than the initial calculation, according to a report in our sister website Modern Tire Dealer.
The change stems from two fine details that were used to establish the rate for Prinx Chengshan (Shandong) Tire Co. Ltd. One is related to using a per-kilogram basis instead of a per-piece basis in the calculation; another refers to not using a weight average when reconstructing control numbers.
The result is what the DOC calls a significant ministerial error, which it defines as a mathematical or clerical error that “would result in a change of at least five absolute percentage points, but not less than 25% of the weighted average dumping margin.”
As it relates to this anti-dumping tariff, the recalculated rate for Prinx Chengshan is 30.36%, up from 20.87%.
In every tariff investigation the DOC selects manufacturers to serve as mandatory respondents. Those companies then provide data and answer questions, and those figures and answers serve as the basis and gauge for the whole industry. Other manufacturers also may volunteer to provide their data throughout the investigation as well. Usually there’s at least a slight reward in doing so because companies who don’t comply can be subject to the highest tariffs.
That was the case in August when the anti-dumping rates were first announced. The DOC set a rate for Prinx Chengshan, and used that same rate for the “non-selected separate rate respondents.” A slightly higher tariff, of 22.57%, was levied against all other manufacturers in China.
As it turns out, the rate for Prinx Chengshan is now higher than the rate originally imposed on all …Read the rest of this story
