Lubin Ozoux, CEO of Dunlop Tyres SA, has called into question the effectiveness of SA’s anti-dumping measures, saying Chinese imports continue to flood the market despite the safeguards put in place by authorities.
“When I look at the tyre industry, where we are being hurt heavily is on the Chinese imports that are coming in. Even though we had anti-dumping duties that were implemented a while ago, the price now of Chinese tyres is lower than before the duties were implemented,” Ozoux told an Investec webinar.
“That is the reality. Before we put [protective] measures in place, we need to put things in place to be able to implement them. If you don’t have your customs and borders and systems in terms of applying these levies, there is no point in implementing them,” he said.
“That is a challenge we need to really think about. When I look at tyres specifically, we talk about dumping. But what we see in the sector is not dumping but more of a highly subsidised industry in China. They want to own the industry globally.
SA tariffs to remain until 2028
The department of trade, industry & competition in 2023 imposed anti-dumping duties on passenger, truck, and bus tyres imported from China.
The current tariffs, which are due to remain in place until July 2028, range between 7.18% and 43.6% on passenger, truck and bus tyres imported from or originating in China.
However, the International Trade Administration Commission (Itac) a year ago launched an investigation into allegations that new tyres from China are still being dumped in SA via Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
This after the SA Tyre Manufacturers Conference (SATMC) — which includes brands such as Goodyear, Bridgestone, Continental and Dunlop — provided sufficient evidence of a prima facie case of country hopping and material injury, justifying the investigation.
Country hopping refers to a country whose products are subject to anti-dumping duties using another country or customs territory to ship those products to avoid the duties.
Dunlop focuses on Africa for growth
Ozoux said the group sees great growth opportunities in the rest of the continent.
“For us, Africa is the future. When Sumitomo [the parent company of Dunlop] bought Dunlop, it was to focus on Africa. With regulations from the US and EU moving further apart, it is difficult to look at other markets outside of Africa,” Ozoux said.
“It actually makes it a bit easier for us, as it gives us a clear focus of what we need to do. When you start looking at too many things, you lose focus. For us, we are very clear that Africa is our playing field, and that is where we need to play.”
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