South Korea's largest tyre manufacturer, Hankook Tire & Technology Company, was reported to be urging the US Commerce Department to drop its investigation into tyre dumping, suggesting its imports have not had an impact on US tyre manufacturers.
Earlier this week the US Commerce Department began an investigation into automotive tyres imported from South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam and Thailand, to determine whether these products are being sold at below market prices.
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The investigation followed a complaint filed in May by United Steel Workers (USW), the union representing workers at US tyre plants, suggesting US tyre manufacturers would likely lose market share in their home market as a result of these imports resulting in the loss of domestic jobs.
Hankook earlier this month, ahead of the formal launch of investigation, sent a letter to the US Commerce Department denying US vehicle tyre producers as a whole had been materially affected and were not threatened by imported tyre products.
According to the report, the US imported more than 85m tyres worth around US$4bn in 2019 from the four countries targeted by the probe, including US$1.2bn worth from South Korea.
Hankook Tire generated around 80% of group revenues from overseas sales last year. The company has two plants in South Korea, three in China and one in each of the US, Indonesia and Hungary, with a combined capacity of 102m tyres.
