The South African Tyre Manufacturers Conference (SATMC) says it is cooperating with the International Trade Administration Commission (Itac) regarding its application to impose hefty new anti-dumping duties on tyres imported from China.
SATMC managing executive Nduduzo Chala was speaking after the Tyre Importers Association of South Africa (Tiasa) filed a Pretoria High Court application to force tyre manufacturers to disclose why and from which countries they are importing tyres. SATMC is the official industry body and trade association of local tyre manufacturers, representing Bridgestone, Continental, Goodyear and Sumitomo.
“The SATMC applied to Itac for an investigation and provided evidence to support the position that tyres imported from China at unfairly low prices are causing material injury to the local industry. The SATMC continues to cooperate with Itac and has provided all required information to Itac to support the investigation,” Chala said.
He added that the SATMC had received Tiasa’s notice of motion which the association was addressing.
“As the SATMC, we believe that we should respect this process. We, the SATMC, wish to stress that the investigation that was initiated on January 31 is still ongoing. The conclusion of the preliminary phase of the investigation is awaited; thereafter, a preliminary report will be published setting out Itac’s preliminary decision.”
Interested parties will have 14 days from the date of publication of the preliminary report to comment in writing to Itac.
The investigation will then continue with its final investigation phase, during which Itac will review interested parties’ comments and verify the information that was submitted before issuing an Essential Facts letter. This will be followed by Itac’s Final Determination which will be published on or before July 31, 2023.
