QUINCY, Ill., April 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Titan
International, Inc. (NYSE: TWI) announced today that last week the
U.S. Department of Commerce ("DOC") released the final results of
its review of imports of Off-the-Road ("OTR") tires from
China for the 2014-2015 time
period (dumping order) and 2014 (countervailing duty order).
These results show that the Chinese government has increased the
level of subsidies provided to Chinese OTR
tire producers and that they have
continued to sell for less-than-fair value in the U.S. market.
The DOC's issuance of these results updates the level of duties
that are imposed on OTR
tire imports to counteract the most recent
levels of subsidization and dumping identified by the DOC.
The identified levels of subsidization have increased dramatically
since they were last analyzed by the DOC. Specifically, the
DOC found subsidy levels, which previously
ranged from 2.52% to 5.65%, to be 34.46%
to 46.01% in the recent review. The DOC has also continued to
find that the Chinese producers are selling at significant amounts
below their costs. The Department of Commerce found in the
dumping review that OTR tires produced by major Chinese producers
were sold in the U.S. at levels below fair value ranging from
33.05% to 105.31%. The practical effect of these findings is
two-fold. For entries of merchandise that were covered by the
reviews, the DOC will issue liquidation instructions for Customs to
assess duties equal to the amount finally found (subject to any
judicial review); if more than the cash deposits posted at the time
of entry, importers are liable for the difference plus interest
from the date of entry. Moreover, when the determinations are
published in the Federal Register in the coming days, the DOC will
provide instructions to U.S. Customs to collect cash deposits on
incoming entries from China
reflecting the final rates found in this latest completed
review.
Under U.S. laws, the DOC will, if requested, periodically review
the level of dumping and/or subsidization under any existing
countervailing duty or antidumping duty order. The
existing OTR
tire orders were put into place as the
result of Petitions filed by Titan and the United Steelworkers
("USW").
Maurice Taylor, Titan's Chairman,
remarked that, "We thank the government agencies involved for their
diligence in pursuing these reviews. These results confirm
that imports of OTR tires from China continue to be subsidized and dumped and
harm U.S. producers of OTR tires in the U.S. marketplace. I believe Titan will see a positive
impact in our aftermarket business as a result of these
determinations.On behalf of our shareholders and workers, we
are pleased that the U.S. government's investigations have
confirmed what we are seeing in the U.S. marketplace."
Paul Reitz, Titan's President and
CEO said that, "These results confirm our belief that the levels of
government subsidization had significantly increased and that the
amount of dumping has continued. The continued monitoring by
the DOC of these orders and the imposition of accurate amounts of
countervailing and antidumping duties is an important step in
restoring conditions of fair trade. We will continue to work
with the DOC to insure that any and all subsidization and dumping
by Chinese producers is met by appropriate duty levels. We have
been fighting and will continue to fight against the unfair trade
practices of any U.S. trading partners."
Company description: Titan
International, Inc., a holding company, owns subsidiaries that
supply wheels, tires, assemblies and undercarriage products for
off-highway equipment used in agricultural,
earthmoving/construction and consumer applications. For more
information, visit www.titan-intl.com.
Safe harbor statement: This press release contains
forward-looking statements, which statements are covered by the
"Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements" provided by the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words
"believe," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "would," "could,"
"outlook," "potential," "may," "will" and other similar expressions
are intended to identify forward-looking statements, which are
generally not historical in nature. These forward-looking
statements are based on our current expectations and beliefs
concerning future developments and their potential effect on us.
Although we believe the assumptions upon which these
forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, these
assumptions are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, and
are subject to change based on various factors, some of which are
beyond Titan International, Inc.'s control. As a result, any
of these assumptions could prove to be inaccurate and the
forward-looking statements based on these assumptions could be
incorrect. The matters discussed in these forward-looking
statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors
that could cause actual results and trends to differ materially
from those made, projected or implied in or by the forward-looking
statements depending on a variety of uncertainties or other factors
including, but not limited to risks detailed in Titan
International, Inc.'s periodic reports filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission, including the annual report on Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2016.
These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date
hereof. The Company cautions that any forward-looking
statements included in this press release are subject to several
risks and uncertainties and the Company undertakes no obligation to
publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether
as a result of new information, changed circumstances or future
events or for any other reason.
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SOURCE Titan International, Inc.