By Brazil Stock Guide – The Brazilian government has renewed a set of antidumping duties on imports of motorcycle tires from China, Thailand and Vietnam for up to five more years, maintaining steep specific tariffs first imposed more than a decade ago. The measure, formalized through a new resolution published in the Diário Oficial da União, aims to prevent a resurgence of price dumping in a segment dominated locally by Michelin, Pirelli, Rinaldi and Tortuga.
Tariffs Maintained
The renewed duties — US$ 2.18/kg for Chinese and Vietnamese tires and US$ 1.10/kg for Thai products — apply to all exporters and producers and remain restricted to diagonal-construction motorcycle tires under NCM 4011.40.00. Radial tires stay exempt.
The foreign-trade authority concluded that eliminating the duties would likely lead to a return of dumping practices, citing historical evidence from the initial 2013 investigation and a full review in 2019. Although recent import volumes from the three Asian suppliers were modest, the underlying market conditions were deemed sufficient to justify the continuation of protections.
Industry Pressure and Cost Structure
In its petition, the National Tire Industry Association (Anip) argued that the cost gap between Brazilian production and Asian export prices remains wide enough to threaten domestic manufacturers. The government’s technical analysis compared material costs — including synthetic rubber, natural rubber, carbon black, steel reinforcement and textile inputs — and concluded that producers from China, Thailand and Vietnam could resume shipping at dumped price levels if protections were lifted.
Local manufacturers have long argued that the tire market is highly exposed to low-priced imports and that removing defensive trade measures would hurt capacity utilization, profitability and investment plans.
Broader Trade Landscape
The tire segment is among several in which Brazil keeps antidumping defenses against Asian suppliers. The renewed measure comes as the government tries to balance Mercosur tariff commitments with pressure from domestic industrial lobbies.
The resolution takes effect immediately and allows authorities to revisit the duties before the five-year term expires.
The renewed antidumping measure applies to all motorcycle-tire producers and exporters from China, Thailand and Vietnam, covering the broad universe of manufacturers in those countries — including large international groups referenced in the technical review, such as Continental in Thailand, Doublestar (and the Kumho Tire facility it acquired) in Vietnam, and Chinese producers expanding capacity in Asia like Jiangsu General Science, Shandong Linglong and Rizhao Kaishun — while on the Brazilian side the analysis considers domestic manufacturers Michelin, Pirelli, Rinaldi, Tortuga, Maggion and Vipal as the industry impacted by potential injury.
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