Sri Lanka rubber group hails US tire duties decision

Colombo – The Sri Lanka Association of Manufacturers and Exporters of Rubber Products (SLAMERP) has welcomed what it said is the first ever revocation of a US countervailing duty imposed on a Sri Lankan export.

On 11 July, it said, the US Court of International Trade ruled that a 0.95% countervailing duty on off-the-road (OTR) tire imports should be removed.

According to SLAMERP, the US duties had been linked to a guaranteed price scheme on the import of OTR tires from Sri Lanka.

The ruling “will bring about significant reinforcement to the tire industry,” said SLAMERP chairman Prabhash Subasinghe in a release sent to ERJ on 18 July .

“With respect to the regulations set up by the World Trade Organization, the removal of this 0.95% duty also eliminates a larger 2.18% countervailing duty on the imports of OTR tires from Sri Lanka to the US,” added Subasinghe.