[Mad Monkey]

The government on Friday imposed curbs on imports of certain new pneumatic tyres used in motor cars, busses, lorries and motorcycles in a move to promote domestic manufacturing. "Import policy of new pneumatic tyres...is amended from free to restricted," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification.
Putting the goods under restricted category means an importer would now require a licence or permission from the DGFT for imports.
Earlier, the import of these tyres were allowed without any restrictions.
The decision assumes significance as domestic tyre manufacturers have been demanding restrictions on imports. The industry has time and again raised concerns over rising imports of tyres from countries like China.
The restriction was on tyres used in station wagons, racing cars, scooters, multi-cellular polyurethane tubeless tyres, and bicycles.

Outlookindia




Govt Of India Notification



Notification 12 dated 12.06.2020_0.pdf

[Blooming Flower]

In a recent notification issued by Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) it is said that Indian govt. has imposed restrictions on the import of several categories of tyres.

The speculation was already reported since the beginning of April 2020. The move is assumed to promote domestic manufacturing and support the self-reliance initiative.

Earlier, the import of these tyres were allowed without any restrictions.

The decision assumes significance as domestic tyre manufacturers have been demanding restrictions on imports. The industry has time and again raised concerns over rising imports of tyres from countries like China.

The restriction was on tyres used in station wagons, racing cars, scooters, multi-cellular polyurethane tubeless tyres, and bicycles.

Source

Imports of these tyres were worth USD 260.72 million in April-February 2019-20 as against USD 330.72 million in 2018-19.

The government is taking steps to promote domestic manufacturing and reduce import bill of non-essential goods. The country''s imports dipped by about 10 per cent to USD 467 billion in 2019-20. PTI RR MR MR

Source

A March 17 communication by the DGFT, said that union commerce ministry has initiated inputs from various industry associations and stake holders to ensure tyre imports move to the restricted category. Tyre companies have been lobbying for restrictions on imports to control influx of Chinese imports particularly in the after market.

Source

The government is considering a proposal to put import of tyres under the restricted category to promote domestic manufacturing, according to sources. Currently, there are no restrictions on tyre imports. Putting restrictions will mean the importer will have to seek a license for inbound shipments.

Source

The official notice is here.

[Nikhildrao]

This is the same strategy Harley used to save itself from Japanese imports like Honda where immense tariffs were imposed to decrease sales of competitors vis the powers of the government under Ronald Reagan. This eventually led to HD becoming lazy because they didn't have to work harder to improve itself. This led to HD becoming ancient in terms of tech and eventually surviving on lifestyle products(merch). We as customers will also have to deal with indigenous products of lesser quality which won't improve over time sans competition

Mod Note : Please avoid typing with excessive dots.........like................this.

Thanks

[Nithesh_M]

Maybe Domestic tyre manufacturers should stop making duff tyres and lure customers away with proper technologically superior products. Forcing established brands to setup local production will hurt domestic manufacturers more if better quality tyres end up being more affordable.

[Blooming Flower]

Originally Posted by Nithesh_M

Maybe Domestic tyre manufacturers should stop making duff tyres and lure customers away with proper technologically superior products.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-...improving.html (Is the tyre quality of Indian brands improving?)

[shortbread]

Good move, if not checked India becomes a dumping ground for cheap chinese tyres! Albeit the chinese are cunning and will push product through other routes like Bangladesh or Sri Lanka.

[hortons15]

I read the DGFT notification attached in the OP but couldn't understand what kind of restrictions are in place. Will this affect the Thailand-manufactured Michelin Pilot Sport 4's that are currently available in the market?

I've switched to those recently and they're VASTLY superior (noise, grip and comfort) even in low-profiles, compared to any other tyre I've ever used. Now will this affect availability or price? I need 6 more tyres :/

[avira_tk]

Let me give the perspective from those who grow rubber, the prices are at around 25% of what they were a decade ago. The domestic manufacturers who can't make a profit when their input costs at historic lows need to shut down or try another line of business.

The Chinese crap is not much worse than what we make here, if it's cheaper why can't customers decide and be given their choice? The domestic companies import rubber to beat down the local market, so it's only fair they get no privileges with the finished product either. It's terrible that lobbying had led to inefficient companies being subsidized by ordinary citizens, I suppose the owners can look forward to their next private jet or yacht courtesy of the protection scheme they've bought.

[shankar.balan]

Most irritating. This hits us just exactly when I need a new set of fat tyres for my fat bicycle.
I wonder sometimes if we are actually regressing over to the bad old socialism led protectionist economy and monopoly days.

[Turbanator]

What about the sizes that no Indian manufacturers make? I don’t think anyone produces size 19 and above in India for cars.

They could have added higher duties on imports rather than a blanket ban or restricted common sizes which are manufactured in India.

[aghate]

Wouldn't it be prudent to ensure that local manufacturing is up to the foreign standards? Have a good performance measuring standard/protocol if where local manufacturing meets/exceeds these standards consistently.

After the above is in place, then make a move to bring a blanket law for such foreign manufactured tyres. The Govt. cannot decide the safety I would get with better tyres, certainly not by paying an exorbitant price or not having any chance to buy then.

Common man is fed up with blanket decisions already.

[Nithesh_M]

Originally Posted by Blooming Flower

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-...improving.html (Is the tyre quality of Indian brands improving?)

Maybe there are options for four wheelers between MRF and Apollo but if you see the 2 wheeler market, especially the sport bikes above 150cc, except for MRF who are half decent and gather data from national racing one make championships, the other desi manufacturers produce tyres worse than those Chinese tyres. It is exactly why most bikers prefer Michelin Pilot/Road series or even go a step further for Metzelers. Tyres are just as much a matter of safety as helmets for 2 wheelers.

And desi manufacturers are rarely venturing into big bike tyre sizes.

[quickdraw]

This is terrible, the tire lobby is so strong in India that the already restrictive DOT issues have now evolved into this. None of the Indian manufacturers cater to requirements non standard cars. This will lead to already overpriced imported tire prices to go through the roof.

Why does the government care about restricting racing car tires et all. This is just pure crony capitalism and nothing else.

[Hayek]

Yet another terrible move. The fact is that Atmanirbhar Bharat is a terrible idea - the day the PM announced it, I feared it would be used to let crony capitalists profit at the cost of Indian customers. And this is just the first example of that. Why should the Indian tire industry or any other industry be protected through import restrictions. Aren’t customs duties of 15% (more than the entire operating profit margin of Michelin) enough time protect this industry.

I have lived in an India that believed in Swadeshi - where the educated Indian was forced to buy crappy products, get terribly low salaries, pay insane taxes. Sadly, we seem to be heading back in the same direction. Am not very optimistic about the future of this country.

[Nikhilb2008]

This does seem like a terrible move on the face of it. However, there is still a lot of confusion.

One common theory is that imports will be allowed but only by registered importers. So, I'm confident Michelin, Pirelli can continue their imports peacefully.

Please note the wording says "Restricted", not "banned".

I guess the people worst hit will be people with high-end performance cars. To begin with, they didn't have tyres available easily. However, there were some supplies from the grey market. Now, that would be closed completely.

Let us wait for the actual news from the tyre companies instead of jumping the gun as usual and saying it's good or bad.

Michelin has sent the below text to all their dealers:

Dear channel partner
we share and understand your concerns on the new government notification and are working with the govt and other agencies to obtain clarity and impact on Michelin tyres. In the next 2 or 3 days we will share further information once the situation becomes more clear. You can be rest assured that we will do our best to ensure continuous supplies of our tyres.