Market “back where it started” a year after tariffs

Birmingham, UK - Giti Tire was among the manufacturers to be hit by EU tariffs on truck and bus tires (TBRs) manufactured in China, in May last year.

The European regulators imposed an import tariff of around Ä50 across the board for all tire sizes – 17”, 19” and 22” – manufactured by Giti in China.

“Like other premium manufacturers, we were hit considerably with the tariffs and it was painful,” said Tony McHugh, Giti‘s TBR sales and marketing director UK.

“We have worked through it on the 22.5” sizes, which are now coming from our plant in Indonesia,” the UK company executive added in a 1 May interview at the Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham.

About 70% of products, he said, will be supplied from Indonesia by the yearend, with Giti still assessing where to go with the smaller sizes.

The tariff has made the sales of 17.5” tires particularly difficult as “the margin is not there,” noted McHugh, adding that other tire makers have similar problems.

“But the key sizes are now coming through and we are certainly in a better position than at this time last year,” he added. “We will probably be back to where we want to be in the third quarter of this year.”