Domestic tire company facing US investigation

A Chinese tire company said Tuesday that it will actively cooperate with an investigation, after the US International Trade Commission (ITC) launched a patent probe into more than 20 tire makers, including seven from China.

The commission on Monday opened an investigation into 22 tire makers from the US, China and Thailand, after Japan's Toyo Tire & Rubber Co and its US subsidiary filed a complaint on August 14 with the ITC, claiming that tires made by these companies have infringed on its design patents and violated Section 337 of the US Tariff Act of 1930.

"The incident might have been caused by our original equipment manufacturer (OEM) business," Yu Hongfa,

a spokesman for Shandong Linglong Tyre Co, told the Global Times Tuesday.

Yu said the OEM business involves clients providing blueprints and molds for the company to make tire products based on these items.

It's possible that the blueprints and molds provided by these clients may have infringed upon the Japanese company's design patents, Yu noted.

"We have suspended the OEM business since the Japanese company filed the complaint," he said.

The other six Chinese tire companies - including Weifang Shunfuchang Rubber & Plastic Co and Shandong Yongtai Chemical Group Co - as well as the China Rubber Industry Association were unavailable for comment when contacted by the Global Times Tuesday.

The ITC said that it will issue a ban on imports of the products involved if there has been a Section 337 violation.

"The investigation's potential effect on the domestic tire industry is limited as it only targets a few companies and certain kinds of products," Li Mingwei,

a rubber industry analyst with consultancy firm Sublime China Information, told the Global Times Tuesday.

More than 40 percent of the Section 337 investigations that the US has launched since 2010 have involved Chinese products, and China's Ministry of Commerce will continue to help companies in dealing with the probes, the ministry's spokesman Shen Danyang told a media briefing Tuesday.