According to the latest issue of "China Rubber" magazine, the South African International Trade Administration Commission (the "Investigating Authority") announced on September 20 that it has initiated an anti-circumvention investigation into new pneumatic rubber tires (the "investigated products") exported from China to Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam to evade anti-dumping duties.

The China Rubber Industry Association advises Chinese companies operating in these three countries to pay close attention to this case.

If companies in the investigated countries (Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia) have associated firms exporting the products in question to South Africa, it is recommended that they actively participate in the anti-circumvention investigation. Failure to respond could result in the Investigating Authority imposing higher punitive tax rates based on available factual information, making it difficult for the related companies to export these products from the investigated countries.

If associated companies in these three countries have not yet produced or exported to South Africa, it is advised to communicate with the South African Investigating Authority through legal counsel to confirm participation methods.

Given the extensive nature of the required submissions, which is comparable to the workload for a complete anti-dumping case in South Africa, companies are encouraged to begin preparation work as soon as possible to ensure timely submission.

The applicant for this case is the South African Tire Manufacturers Conference (SATMC), an industry association of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), whose members include Bridgestone South Africa Ltd., Continental Tyre South Africa Ltd., Goodyear South Africa Ltd., and Sumitomo Rubber South Africa Ltd., accounting for 100% of SACU's production of the investigated products.

The products under investigation are new pneumatic rubber tires. The products allegedly evading anti-dumping measures are passenger car tires (involving HS tariff codes 4011.10.01, 4011.10.03, 4011.10.05, 4011.10.07, 4011.10.09) and truck/bus tires (involving HS tariff codes 4011.20.16, 4011.20.18, 4011.20.26) originating from or imported from Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The type of circumvention alleged in this case is "country hopping," where manufacturers and exporters within the alleged circumvention countries have connections with producers and exporters in the original regulation country. Following the implementation of the anti-dumping duties, the trade patterns changed.

The applicants claim that after temporary measures and definitive anti-dumping duties were imposed on tires originating from or imported from China, Chinese exporters shifted the export of the investigated tires to their associated companies in Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

They provided a list of associated companies identified in the original investigation and allege that these companies, due to business or ownership connections, engage in relevant activities in Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The applicants argue that this association, combined with the imposition of temporary measures and final anti-dumping duties, directly led to this change in trade patterns, undermining the effectiveness of the anti-dumping measures.

The investigation period for the dumping investigation is from November 1, 2023, to May 31, 2024. There are two periods for the circumvention investigation to determine whether a shift in sales occurred: March 1, 2022, to September 30, 2022, compared with October 1, 2022, to April 30, 2023; and April 1, 2023, to October 31, 2023, compared with November 1, 2023, to May 31, 2024.

According to the investigation procedures, all submissions must be made within 30 days from the date of the announcement (with an extension request not exceeding 14 days). The announcement is considered received 7 days after issuance. Parties must ensure that the information submitted is verifiable. The Investigating Authority plans to verify the information submitted by exporters within 3 to 5 weeks after the submission.