Chinese-made tyres for passenger vehicles, trucks and buses will be subject to greater anti-dumping tariffs for the next five years.
The tariffs will remain in place until July 2028 and mean that duties will rise between 7.18% to 43.6%. The current flat rate across all tyres imported from China was 38.33% in duties, a tariff rate that lasted until March.
Now it has been confirmed that the tariff will remain in place for a period of five years until July 2028.
The taxes will not apply to fairly traded imports from other countries that enter the Southern African Customs Union, said the South African Tyre Manufacturer’s Conference (SATMC).
The decision to impose anti-dumping duties on Chinese tyres was made by the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) and the South African Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition, Ebrahim Patel.
The move has been welcomed by the SATMC, representing South Africa’s four largest tyre manufacturers: Bridgestone, Continental, Goodyear and Sumitomo Rubber.
“As the SATMC, we applaud this decisive measure by ITAC and the minister, which comes as a significant victory for the domestic tyre industry,” said Nduduzo Chala, the managing executive of the SATMC.
“The implementation of these final anti-dumping duties will serve to uphold fair trade practices and protect the economy against opportunistic pricing in the tyre sector, which has posed a threat to the future of the South African tyre industry,” he added.
The SATMC was one of the leading voices advocating for the imposition of anti-dumping duties, arguing that the dumping of Chinese-made tyres was having an adverse effect on the local industry.
It claimed that the tyres were unfairly priced and were, therefore, threatening domestic investment and job creation.
The SATMC noted that other Asian markets, such as Japan and South Korea, did not pose a threat and would, therefore, be unaffected by the ruling.
In response, the Tyre Importers Association of South Africa (TIASA) argued that introducing new tariffs would result in price hikes for tyres that local consumers would be forced to bear.
