Tennessee mayors oppose ITC’s anti-dumping duties on Hankook Tire

Politicians in the US state of Tennessee are urging the International Trade Commission (ITC) to avoid hurting the operations of Hankook Tire & Technology Co., which runs a plant in the state, by imposing anti-dumping duties on tire imports.

According to industry officials on June 13, Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett and Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts have submitted a joint letter to the ITC to express their opposition to a decision by the trade body and the US government to levy anti-dumping tariffs on Hankook’s tire imports from Korea.

Citing Hankook Tire’s contribution to the economy of Tennessee, the mayors said any additional tariff could harm Hankook Tire’s investment and job creation in the state.

The two mayors are joining US Representative Mark Green of Tennessee, who earlier requested the ITC to make a careful decision on the matter as anti-dumping duties could negatively affect the overall tire industry in the US.

The move comes after the US Department of Commerce in May decided to impose anti-dumping duties on Korea’s three tire makers – Hankook, Kumho Tire Co. and Nexen Tire Corp. – saying that the Korean companies’ low prices threaten the competitiveness of American tire makers.

The commerce department levied a 27.05% tariff on Hankook Tire, 21.74% on Kumho and 14.72 % on Nexen.

The ITC is set to make its final ruling on the matter in early July.

EXTRA INVESTMENT, JOB CREATION AFFECTED

According to industry officials, the anti-dumping duties would incur an additional 100 billion won ($90 million) in annual costs for Hankook Tire.

Hankook Tire opened a tire factory in Clarksville in October 2017 with an annual production capacity of 5.5 million tires sold all across the US. The plant also created about 1,000 jobs for local workers.

Earlier this year, Hankook Tire announced plans to invest 100 billion won to ramp up its Tennessee factory by the end of 2023.

The company’s US sales account for slightly less than 30% of its total revenue. About 20% of its tires sold in the US are made in its Tennessee plant, while 30% are imported from Indonesia and the remaining 50% from Korea.

Write to Il-Gue Kim at Black0419@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.