A one-page notice in Friday’s Federal Register decides whether the import duties on a big share of the replacement tires sold in America get a quick renewal or a full fight. The U.S. International Trade Commission has voted to run full five-year reviews of the 2021 duty orders on passenger vehicle and light truck tires from South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. That means the rules stay in place for now, but their future is open for real debate.
Most people will never read a notice like this. But these orders touch tires made by Hankook, Nexen, Kumho, Cheng Shin (the company behind Maxxis), Kenda and Sumitomo Rubber’s plant in Thailand. And the most interesting line is buried in the last paragraph.
What the ITC Actually Decided
Under the Tariff Act of 1930, antidumping and countervailing duty orders don’t last forever. Every five years, the Commerce Department and the ITC have to decide whether ending an order would likely bring back “material injury” to U.S. producers. Commerce issued these four orders on July 19, 2021. Both agencies formally kicked off the sunset reviews on June 1, 2026.
The ITC can pick one of two paths. An expedited review is basically a paper check. A full review means questionnaires to the industry, a public hearing, and a new vote. The Commission chose the full path on September 4 and issued the notice on September 22. It was published in the Federal Register on September 25. The agency says a schedule “will be established and announced at a later date.”
The Buried Detail: Taiwan Didn’t Hold Up Its End
Near the end of the notice, the Commission says U.S. producers and foreign respondents from South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam all filed “adequate” responses. That’s what normally earns a country a full review. Taiwan didn’t. The Commission found the Taiwanese respondent group’s response “inadequate.”
Usually, when foreign producers don’t take part, the ITC can handle that country in a quick expedited review, and the order tends to be renewed. This time the Commission is putting Taiwan into the full review anyway, “in order to promote administrative efficiency.” In plain English, Taiwan gets the same full hearing as the countries that showed up. It will be judged alongside the others instead of on a one-sided paper record.
That matters because Taiwan’s order started with the highest rates. Commerce’s 2021 order set a dumping margin of 20.04% for Cheng Shin Rubber, 101.84% for Nankang Rubber Tire, and an 84.75% “all others” rate for Taiwanese exporters that weren’t individually examined.
Tire Duties Have Already Shrunk for Some Brands
What makes this review more than a formality is that the duty rates on some of the biggest exporters have dropped sharply since 2021. That’s according to Commerce’s own annual review results:
- South Korea: Hankook’s 2021 margin was 27.05%. In the final results published July 13, 2026, covering sales from July 2023 through June 2024, it was 13.03%. Nexen went from 14.72% to 8.02%, and Kumho was assigned 10.53%. The all-others rate is still 21.74%.
- Thailand: Sumitomo Rubber (Thailand) started at 14.59%. In the July 20, 2026 final results it came in at 0.00%, and Sentury Tire came in at 2.90%. The all-others rate from the original investigation is still 17.06%.
- Vietnam: In the latest countervailing duty review, Commerce’s preliminary subsidy rates for 2024 are 3.01% for Kenda Rubber (Vietnam) and 5.84% for Kumho Tire (Vietnam).
Put simply, the same orders now carry very different costs from company to company. A tire from Sumitomo’s Thai plant can enter with no dumping cash deposit. A tire from an exporter still on an original all-others rate can carry a much higher one. That gap is part of what the ITC will weigh when it decides whether dropping the orders would hurt U.S. tire plants.
Who This Affects
Tire importers and brands pay these duties as cash deposits when tires cross the border. The rates are updated every year. On September 4, Commerce opened another round of administrative reviews covering Hankook, Kumho, Nexen, Cheng Shin, Kenda, Kumho’s Vietnam unit and 15 Thai entities. So rates could move again even while the sunset fight goes on.
U.S. tire manufacturers will argue that ending the orders would bring a surge of low-priced imports back. Foreign producers will argue the market has changed. The full review gives both sides a hearing and the chance to file sworn data.
Drivers are furthest from the paperwork but not out of the picture. Duties are an added cost in the chain that runs from factory to tire shop. Whether they stay, shrink, or disappear can shape which brands are easy to find and what they cost. If you’re budgeting for new rubber, it helps to know how long tires really last and how to stretch the life of the set you have.
Why It Matters Now
These orders are one layer of a larger trade wall around tires. In July, Commerce published a notice continuing the separate antidumping and countervailing duty orders on Chinese passenger and light truck tires. The four-country orders under review now are the next layer. The outcome will show whether Washington keeps that wall at full height or starts trimming it.
Here’s the practical takeaway. Nothing changes at the tire counter today. The orders stay in force through the full review, which typically runs for months and includes a public hearing. The date to watch is the ITC’s schedule notice, because that’s when the hearing and final vote get set. We’ve written before about how border rules shape the parts supply chain and how customs officials police the value of imported auto parts. Tires are headed for the same kind of scrutiny, just on a slower clock.
Sources: U.S. International Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Commerce notices in the Federal Register, linked above. The ITC’s public record for these reviews (Investigation Nos. 701-TA-647 and 731-TA-1517-1519 (Review)) is on its EDIS docket.
Should the U.S. keep these tire duties in place, or would you rather see them end if it meant cheaper replacement tires? Share your take in the comments.