09-2-2757 U.S. Importer questionnaire

Information collections for import injury investigations (producers, importers, purchasers, and foreign producer questionnaires and institution notices for 5-year reviews)

Tires - US Importer Questionnaire

Certain Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires from China

OMB: 3117-0016

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OMB No. 3117-0016/USITC No. 09-2-2757; Expiration Date: 6/30/2011
(No response is required if currently valid OMB control number is not displayed)

U.S. IMPORTERS’ QUESTIONNAIRE
CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLE AND LIGHT TRUCK TIRES FROM CHINA

This questionnaire must be received by the Commission by no later than May 7, 2009
See page 4 of the Instruction Booklet for filing instructions.
The information called for in this questionnaire is for use by the United States International Trade Commission in
connection with its market disruption investigation concerning certain passenger vehicle and light truck tires (subject
tires) from China (inv. No. TA-421-7) under section 421(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 (the Act). The information
requested in the questionnaire is requested under the authority of section 421 of the Act. This report is mandatory and
failure to reply as directed can result in a subpoena or other order to compel the submission of records or information in
your possession (19 U.S.C. § 1333(a)).

Name of firm
Address
State

City

Zip Code

World Wide Web address
Has your firm imported subject tires (as defined in the instruction booklet) from any country at any time since
January 1, 2004?

(Sign the certification below and promptly return only this page of the questionnaire to the Commission)

YES

(Read the instruction booklet carefully, complete all parts of the questionnaire, and return the entire
questionnaire to the Commission so as to be received by the date indicated above)

CERTIFICATION
The undersigned certifies that the information herein supplied in response to this questionnaire is complete and correct to the best
of his/her knowledge and belief and understands that the information submitted is subject to audit and verification by the
Commission. The undersigned acknowledges that information submitted in this questionnaire response and throughout this
investigation may be used by the Commission, its employees, and contract personnel who are acting in the capacity of Commission
employees, for developing or maintaining the records of this investigation or related proceedings for which this information is
submitted, or in internal audits and investigations relating to programs and operations of the Commission pursuant to 5 U.S.C.
Appendix 3. I understand that all contract personnel will sign non-disclosure agreements. The undersigned understands that the
confidential business information that is furnished may be subject to, and may be released under an administrative protective order
issued by the Commission pursuant to section 206.47 of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure. In addition, the
confidential business information that is submitted may be included in a confidential version of the report that the Commission
transmits to the President and the U.S. Trade Representative, should the Commission transmit a confidential version. Your
signature on the certification below will also serve as consent for the Commission, and its employees and contract personnel, to use
the information you provide in this questionnaire and throughout this investigation in any other import-injury investigations
conducted by the Commission on the same or similar merchandise. If you do not consent to such use, please note the certification
accordingly.

Name of Authorized Official

Title of Authorized Official

Date

Signature

Phone: (
Fax ( )

E-mail address

)

Business Proprietary
U.S. Importers’ Questionnaire – Subject tires

Page 2

PART I.—GENERAL INFORMATION
Public reporting burden for this questionnaire is estimated to average 40 hours per response, including the
time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering the data needed, and
completing and reviewing the questionnaire. Send comments regarding the accuracy of this burden
estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing the
burden, to the Office of Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street, SW,
Washington, DC 20436.
I-1a.

Please report below the actual number of hours required and the cost to your firm of preparing the
reply to this questionnaire and completing the form.
hours

dollars

I-1b.

We are interested in any comments you may have for improving this questionnaire in general or
the clarity of specific questions. Please attach such comments to your response or send them to
the above address.

I-2.

Provide the name and address of establishment(s) covered by this questionnaire (see page 3 of the
instruction booklet for reporting guidelines). If your firm is publicly traded, please specify the
stock exchange and trading symbol.

I-3.

Is your firm owned, in whole or in part, by any other firm?
No

Firm name

Yes--List the following information

Address

Extent of
ownership

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U.S. Importers’ Questionnaire – Subject tires

Page 3

PART I.--GENERAL INFORMATION--Continued
I-4.

Does your firm have any related firms, either domestic or foreign, which are engaged in
importing subject tires from China into the United States or which are engaged in exporting
subject tires from China to the United States?
No

Yes--List the following information

Firm name

I-5.

I-7.

Affiliation

Does your firm have any related firms, either domestic or foreign, which are engaged in the
production of subject tires?
Firm name

I-6.

Address

Affiliation

Please indicate the nature of your firm’s importing operations on subject tires. More than one
answer may be applicable.
Importer of record

Takes title to the imported product(s)

Consignee of the imported products(s)

Customs broker or freight forwarder.

If your firm is an importer of record of subject tires but is not the consignee, please list the
consignees below (firm name, address, telephone number, and individual to contact).

Firm name

Address

Contact person and phone
number

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U.S. Importers’ Questionnaire – Subject tires

Page 4

PART I.--GENERAL INFORMATION--Continued
I-8.

I-9.

Please indicate whether your firm enters subject tires into, or withdraws such merchandise from,
foreign trade zones or bonded warehouses.
Foreign trade zones

Yes

Bonded warehouses

Yes

Please indicate whether your firm imports subject tires under the TIB (temporary importation
under bond) program.
No

I-10.

Yes

To your knowledge, have the products subject to this investigation been the subject of any other
import relief investigations in the United States or in any other countries?
No

Yes–Please specify.

Business Proprietary
U.S. Importers’ Questionnaire – Subject tires

Page 5

PART II.--TRADE AND RELATED INFORMATION
Further information on this part of the questionnaire can be obtained from Nathanael Comly (202-2053174, nathanael.comly@usitc.gov). Supply all data requested on a calendar-year basis.
II-1.

Who should be contacted regarding the requested trade and related information?
Company contact:
Name and title
(
)
Phone number

II-2.

Has your firm experienced any plant/warehouse openings, relocations, expansions, acquisitions,
consolidations, closures, or prolonged shutdowns because of strikes or equipment failure; or any
other change in the character of your operations or organization relating to the importation of
subject tires since January 1, 2004?
No

II-3.

Yes--Supply details as to the time, nature, and significance of such changes.

Has your firm imported or arranged for the importation of subject tires from China for delivery
after December 31, 2008?
No

II-4.

E-mail address

Yes–Indicate when such orders are to be delivered and the quantities
involved.

If your firm also produces subject tires in the United States, please indicate your reasons for
importing this product. If your reasons differ by source, please elaborate.

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U.S. Importers’ Questionnaire – Subject tires

Page 6

PART II.--TRADE AND RELATED INFORMATION--Continued
II-5.

Has your firm imported racing tires under the HTS subheadings 4011.10.10, 4011.10.50,
4011.20.10, or 4011.20.50 since January 1, 2004?
No

Yes--Please provide the quantity and value of such imports in 2008.
Country

Quantity (in 1,000 tires)

Value (in $1,000)

China
All Other

II-6.

Has the United States market for subject tires been the focal point for the diversion of exports of
subject tires, by reason of restraint on exports to or imports into third country markets of subject
tires or imports?
No

II-7.

Yes—Please describe (e.g., the extent to which this is the case).

Has any increase in imports of subject tires from China, either actual or relative to domestic
production, been a cause of material injury to the domestic industry?
No
Yes—Please describe (e.g., the extent to which this is the case, and provide
pertinent information).

Business Proprietary
U.S. Importers’ Questionnaire – Subject tires

Page 7

PART II.--TRADE AND RELATED INFORMATION--Continued
II-8.

IMPORTS FROM SUBJECT SOURCES.–Report your firm’s imports and your firm’s
shipments and inventories of subject tires imported from China by your firm during the specified
periods. (See definitions in the instruction booklet.)

CHINA
Quantity (in 1,000 tires), value (in $1,000)
Calendar years
Item

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Beginning-of-period inventories (quantity)
Imports:1
Quantity of imports
Value of imports
U.S. shipments:
Commercial shipments:
Quantity of commercial shipments
Value of commercial shipments
Internal consumption/company transfers:
Quantity of internal consumption/transfers
Value2 of internal consumption/transfers
Export shipments:3
Quantity of export shipments
Value of export shipments
End-of-period inventories4 (quantity)
Channels of distribution:
U.S. shipments to OEMs (quantity)
U.S. shipments to the replacement market
(quantity)
All other (describe:___________) or unknown
Total
1

Please identify the foreign producers, if known:

Sales to related firms (including internal consumption) must be valued at fair market value. In the event that you use a
different basis for valuing these sales within your company, please specify that basis (e.g., cost, cost plus, etc.) and provide
value data using that basis for each of the years noted above:
3

Identify your principal export markets:
Reconciliation of data.--Please note that the quantities reported above should reconcile as follows: beginning-of-period
inventories, plus imports, less total shipments, equals end-of-period inventories. Do the data reported reconcile?
4

Yes

No--Please explain:

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U.S. Importers’ Questionnaire – Subject tires

Page 8

PART II.--TRADE AND RELATED INFORMATION--Continued
II-9.

IMPORTS FROM NONSUBJECT SOURCES.–Report your firm’s imports and your firm’s
shipments and inventories of subject tires imported from all other sources combined by your
firm during the specified periods. (See definitions in the instruction booklet.)

ALL OTHER SOURCES COMBINED
Quantity (in 1,000 tires), value (in $1,000)
Calendar years
Item

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Please identify the sources and foreign producers, if known:

Yes

No--Please explain:

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U.S. Importers’ Questionnaire – Subject tires

Page 9

PART III.--PRICING AND RELATED INFORMATION
Further information on this part of the questionnaire can be obtained from James Fetzer (202-708-5403,
james.fetzer@usitc.gov)
III-1.

Who should be contacted regarding the requested pricing and related information?
Company contact:
Name and title
(
)
Phone number

E-mail address

PRICE DATA
This section requests quarterly price and quantity data, f.o.b. your U.S. point of shipment, for your
commercial shipments to unrelated U.S. customers during January 2004--December 2008 of the following
products you imported from China:
Product 1.--Subject tires, tire size P225/60R16, 97-98 load index, speed ratings S or T, allseason grand touring/standard touring/passenger
Product 2.-- Subject tires, tire size P235/75R15, 105-108 load index, speed ratings S or T, allseason grand touring/standard touring/passenger
Product 3.-- Subject tires, tire size P205/65R15, 92-94 load index, speed ratings S, T, or H,
all-season grand touring/standard touring/passenger
Product 4.-- Subject tires, tire size P215/70R15, 97-98 load index, speed ratings S or T, allseason grand touring/standard touring/passenger
Product 5.-- Subject tires, tire size LT245/75R16, 111-116 load index, speed ratings R or S,
on/off-road all terrain
Product 6.-- Subject tires, tire size LT265/75R16, 112-116 load index, speed ratings R, S, or
T, on/off-road all terrain
Please note that total dollar values should be f.o.b., U.S. point of shipment and should not include
U.S.-inland transportation costs. Total dollar values should reflect the final net amount paid to you
(i.e., should be net of all deductions for discounts or rebates). See instruction booklet.

Business Proprietary
U.S. Importers’ Questionnaire – Subject tires

Page 10

PART III.--PRICING AND RELATED INFORMATION--Continued
III-2a. Report below the quarterly price data1 for pricing products2 imported from China and sold by
your firm. Please reports sales to OEMs and sales to the replacement market separately.

Sales to Replacement Market
(Quantity in 1,000 tires, value in 1,000 dollars)
Product 1
Product 2
Quantity
Value
Quantity
Value

Product 3
Quantity
Value

2004
January-March
April-June
July-September
October-December
2005
January-March
April-June
July-September
October-December
2006
January-March
April-June
July-September
October-December
2007
January-March
April-June
July-September
October-December
2008
January-March
April-June
July-September
October-December
1
Net values (i.e., gross sales values less all discounts, allowances, rebates, prepaid freight, and the value of
returned goods), f.o.b. your U.S. point of shipment.
2
Pricing product definitions are provided on the first page of Part IV.
Note.--If your product does not exactly meet the product specifications but is competitive with the specified product,
provide a description of your product:
Product 1:
Product 2:
Product 3:

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U.S. Importers’ Questionnaire – Subject tires

Page 11

Sales to Replacement Market
(Quantity in 1,000 tires, value in 1,000 dollars)
Product 4
Product 5
Quantity
Value
Quantity
Value

Product 6
Quantity
Value

Business Proprietary
U.S. Importers’ Questionnaire – Subject tires

Page 12

PART III.--PRICING AND RELATED INFORMATION--Continued
III-2b. Report below the quarterly price data1 for pricing products2 imported from China and sold by
your firm. Please reports sales to OEMs and sales to the replacement market separately.

Sales to OEMS
(Quantity in 1,000 tires, value in 1,000 dollars)
Product 1
Product 2
Quantity
Value
Quantity
Value

Product 3
Quantity
Value

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U.S. Importers’ Questionnaire – Subject tires

Page 13

Sales to OEMs
(Quantity in 1,000 tires, value in 1,000 dollars)
Product 4
Product 5
Quantity
Value
Quantity
Value

Product 6
Quantity
Value

Business Proprietary
U.S. Importers’ Questionnaire – Subject tires

Page 14

PART III.--PRICING AND RELATED INFORMATION--Continued
III-3.

Please describe how your firm determines the prices that it charges for sales of subject tires
(transaction by transaction negotiation, contracts for multiple shipments, set price lists, etc.). If
your firm issues price lists, please include a copy of a recent price list with your submission. If
your price list is large, please submit sample pages.

III-4.

Please describe your firm’s discount policy (quantity discounts, annual total volume discounts,
etc.).

III-5.

What are your firm’s typical sales terms for subject tires imported from China (e.g., 2/10 net 30
days)?
. On what basis are your prices of such product usually quoted (e.g.,
f.o.b. warehouse, or delivered)?
.

III-6.

Approximately what share of your firm’s sales of its subject tires imported from China in 2008
were on a (1) long-term contract basis (multiple deliveries for more than 12 months), (2) shortterm contract basis (multiple deliveries up to 12 months), and (3) spot sales basis (for a single
delivery)?
Type of sale

Share of sales (percent)

Long-term contracts
Short-term contracts
Spot sales
III-7.

If you sell on a long-term contract basis, please answer the following questions with respect to
provisions of a typical long-term contract.
(a)

What is the average duration of a contract?

(b)

Can prices be renegotiated during the contract period?

(c)

Does the contract fix quantity, price, or both?

(d)

Does the contract have a meet or release provision?

Business Proprietary
U.S. Importers’ Questionnaire – Subject tires

Page 15

PART III.--PRICING AND RELATED INFORMATION--Continued
III-8.

III-9.

If you sell on a short-term contract basis, please answer the following questions with respect to
provisions of a typical short-term contract.
(a)

What is the average duration of a contract?

(b)

Can prices be renegotiated during the contract period?

(c)

Does the contract fix quantity, price, or both?

(d)

Does the contract have a meet or release provision?

What is the average lead time between a customer’s order and the date of delivery for your firm’s
sales of subject tires?

Source

Share of sales,
2008

Lead time

From inventory
Produced to order
Total

100 %

III-10. (a)

What is the approximate percentage of the total delivered cost of subject tires that is
accounted for by U.S. inland transportation costs?
percent.

(b)

Who generally arranges the transportation to your customers’ locations? (check one)
Your firm
or purchaser

(c)

What proportion of your sales occur within 100 miles of your storage or production
facility?
percent. Within 101 to 1,000 miles?
percent. Over 1,000 miles?
percent.

III-11. What is the geographic market area in the United States served by your firm’s subject tires?
(check all that apply)
Northeast

Mid-Atlantic

Midwest

Southeast

Southwest

Rocky Mountains

West Coast

Northwest

National

Other (describe:

)

Business Proprietary
U.S. Importers’ Questionnaire – Subject tires

Page 16

PART III.--PRICING AND RELATED INFORMATION--Continued
III-12. Describe the end uses of the subject tires that you import from China. For each end-use product,
what percentage of the total cost is accounted for by subject tires?
End use

III-13. (a)

Share of total cost (percent)

Can other products be substituted for subject tires?
No

Yes--Please list these substitute products in order of importance.

(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(b)

For each possible substitute product, please give examples of applications and end uses
for which they are substitutes.

(c)

Have changes in the prices of these products affected the price for subject tires?
No

Yes--To what degree do changes in their prices affect the price for
subject tires? Does this effect have a time lag? If so, how long is the
time lag for each substitute product? Does this vary by type of subject
tires or final end use?

Business Proprietary
U.S. Importers’ Questionnaire – Subject tires

Page 17

PART III.--PRICING AND RELATED INFORMATION--Continued
III-14. How has the demand within the United States (and outside the United States if known) for subject
tires changed since January 1, 2004? What principal factors affect changes in demand?
Increase

No Change

Decrease

III-15. Have there been any significant changes in the product range or marketing of subject tires since
January 1, 2004?
No

Yes-- Please describe.

III-16. Does your firm sell subject tires over the internet?
No

Yes-- Please describe, noting the estimated percentage of your firm’s total
sales of subject tires in 2008 accounted for by internet sales.

Business Proprietary
U.S. Importers’ Questionnaire – Subject tires

Page 18

PART III.--PRICING AND RELATED INFORMATION--Continued
III-17. Are subject tires produced in the United States and in other countries interchangeable (i.e., can
they physically be used in the same applications)? Please indicate below, using “A” to indicate
that the products from a specified country-pair are always interchangeable, “F” to indicate that
the products are frequently interchangeable, “S” to indicate that the products are sometimes
interchangeable, “N” to indicate that the products are never interchangeable, and “0” to indicate
no familiarity with products from a specified country-pair.1
Country-pair

United States

China

Other countries

United States
China
1

For any country-pair producing subject tires which is sometimes or never interchangeable, please
explain the factors that limit or preclude interchangeable use:

Business Proprietary
U.S. Importers’ Questionnaire – Subject tires

Page 19

PART III.--PRICING AND RELATED INFORMATION--Continued
III-18. Are differences other than price (i.e., quality, availability, transportation network, product range,
technical support, etc.) between subject tires produced in the United States and in other countries
a significant factor in your firm’s sales of the products? Please indicate below, using “A” to
indicate that such differences are always significant, “F” to indicate that such differences are
frequently significant, “S” to indicate that such differences are sometimes significant, “N” to
indicate that such differences are never significant, and “0” to indicate no familiarity with
products from a specified country-pair.1
Country-pair

United States

China

Other countries

United States
China
1

For any country-pair for which factors other than price always or frequently are a significant factor in
your firm’s sales of subject tires, identify the country-pair and report the advantages or disadvantages
imparted by such factors:

Business Proprietary
U.S. Importers’ Questionnaire – Subject tires

Page 20

PART III.--PRICING AND RELATED INFORMATION--Continued
III-19. Please identify below the names and addresses of your firm’s 10 largest customers for subject
tires during 2004-2008. Please also provide the name and telephone number of a contact person
and the share of the quantity of your firm’s total shipments of subject tires from China that each
of these customers accounted for in 2008.

No.

Customer’s name

Street address (not P.O.
box), city, state, and zip
code

Contact person

Area
code and
telephone
number

Share of
2008
sales
(%)

File Type	application/pdf
File Title	Microsoft Word - Tires - US Importer Questionnaire.doc
Author	nathanael.comly
File Modified	2009-04-23
File Created	2009-04-23