Local tyre manufactures on Thursday defended their push for hefty anti-dumping duties to be implemented saying it is part of a sustained effort to rescue the local industry and livelihoods.
“[Local industry] is not against healthy trade and competition at fair prices, but rather against tyres designed and manufactured in China that are imported unfairly into South Africa at unsustainable, rock-bottom rates,” said Nduduzo Chala, the managing executive of the SA Tyre Manufacturers Conference (SATMC), the industry body and trade association of local tyre manufacturers Bridgestone, Continental, Goodyear and Sumitomo.
“This [dumping] has been occurring over a number of years and the continued proliferation of large consignments of cheap imported tyres from China is something we are strongly opposed to. It is not our intention to increase tyre prices or to hit the wallets of customers. This is about fighting unfair trade,” Chala said in a statement.
He said SATMC members are concerned about the knock-on effects of “these destructive practices for job creation and economic growth within SA”.
“We want to keep the South African manufacturing sector alive,” he said.
SATMC has approached the International Trade Administration Commission — the organisation tasked with customs tariff investigations, trade remedies, and import and export control — and the companies are collectively requesting duties of 8%-70%.
SATMC argues that tyres used on cars, buses and lorries originating in or imported from China are being dumped into the Southern African Customs Union market, causing material injury.
This week, tyre importers and transport industry players called on the government to throw out what they term a bizarre application by local manufacturers for anti-dumping duties on various categories of Chinese tyres, saying the tariffs could drive up the cost of tyres by as much as 41%.
Tyres are the third-biggest cost driver in transport after wages and fuel, and any cost increase could have a devastating effect across the economy at a time when many consumers are under the cosh as fuel prices, inflation and interest rates continue to surge.
Chala said dumping has limited the competitiveness of domestic manufacturers, who employ more than 6,000 people directly and create 19,000 indirect employment opportunities.
Tyres worth R5.7bn were imported into SA between August 2020 and July 2021, with 47% of that (almost R3bn) coming from China.
Chala said local manufacturers have made sizeable investments into upping their domestic capacity, but this continues to be eroded as rising cheap imports adversely impact industry capacity utilisation.
“We hope that our anti-dumping application to the International Trade Administration Commission, if successful, will help to provide a more level playing field for the South African tyre manufacturers to sustain the significant role of this industry within the economy,” Chala said.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.