The United Steelworkers asked Washington this week to consider import protection across the major US tire segments. Its 14 September letter to US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer requests a Section 201 safeguard investigation.
One case for every segment. Section 201 allows temporary relief when rising imports seriously injure a domestic industry, whatever their origin. The union's request covers passenger and light-truck, truck-and-bus, off-the-road and aircraft tires together. US anti-dumping cases to date have targeted one segment and a set of named countries at a time.
The letter cites nine US plants closed, partly closed or slated for closure since late 2024, affecting around 7,550 jobs. It also points to a roughly 40% fall in US tire output since 2000. The named sites include facilities run by Sumitomo, Bridgestone, Michelin, Yokohama and Goodyear. USTR has not yet said whether it will act.
Truck-tire capacity comes to Europe. Hankook presented the first pre-production SmartFlex AH51 from its expanded Rácalmás plant in Hungary at IAA Transportation on 14 September. Series production starts in October, with capacity for more than 800,000 truck and bus tires a year. Hankook has until now supplied these tires to Europe from Korea and China only. The line accounts for €540 million of roughly €1.4 billion invested at the site.
Rubber eases but stays high. The benchmark natural rubber price fell to 238.20 US¢/kg on 18 September, 4.7% below its 10 September peak. That peak was the highest level since 2013, and the price remains 39.6% above a year earlier. TradingEconomics attributes the pullback to softer tire demand from China, the top buyer.
Energy costs reach the ministers' agenda. At the same time, EU transport ministers opened an informal meeting in Dublin on 20 September. One session addressed the energy crisis and its impact on European transport. The other covered road-safety technology for connected and autonomous vehicles. Both discussions feed into the formal Transport Council expected in November.
Strikes return to Italian cities. Public transport workers in seven Italian cities, including Florence, Naples and Venice, struck on 15 September. Unions including Cobas, Faisa Cisal and Ugl Autoferro called the action, and guaranteed-service hours varied by operator.
Brussels closes to private cars. The Brussels-Capital Region closed entirely to private cars for Car-Free Sunday on 20 September. The event anchored European Mobility Week, which runs 16 to 22 September across more than 2,500 towns and cities.
