Maintaining a firm stance over voluminous imports of cheap radial tyres in India, the ministry of commerce has recommended the imposition of anti-dumping duty on tyre imports from Thailand. The move has been taken to protect domestic manufacturers from cheap shipments of the product, soon after the ministry observed increased tyre supply from Thailand, who remained opportunistic of anti-China sentiments following clashes between Indian and Chinese armies in Q1FY21.

The passenger car radials (PCR) hold the largest share in the overall tyre imports in India with China leading the  net importers till 2019. Post the India-China faceoff, Chinese imports have crashed considerably, and Thailand has become the new leader in the segment with its share rising up to 49 percent. The Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA) had filed an application before the directorate alleging dumping of radial tyres from Thailand. On December 2, 2019, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) started the probe and after detailed analysis and conclusive findings that excessive imports have caused material injury to the Indian tyre manufacturers, it has recommended the imposition of ADD.

The DGTR has recommended to impose a duty of up to USD 527.08 per tonne on imports of new pneumatic radial rubber tyres, primarily used for buses and trucks from Thailand for five years. According to ChemAnalyst,” The move could raise the produced volumes of India’s leading tyre makers such as MRF, Apollo Tyres, Bridgestone and Ceat and also enable raw material Polybutadiene rubber (PBR) and Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SBR) producers like Reliance Industries gain from the same.”