Russia's Industry Ministry says duties on Chinese car and truck tires could be raised

Russia's Ministry of Industry and Trade has confirmed that import duties on passenger car and truck tires brought into the country could be raised. Any decision would follow the outcome of an investigation by the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), Autonews reported on 11 August in an account carried by Izvestia.

The ministry said higher import duties could be introduced if the facts of a negative impact of increased imports on the tire market are confirmed.

How the case started

In April, major tire manufacturers asked the EEC to shield the Russian market from steadily rising imports, mainly from China. At the time it was reported that the investigation could end in quotas or in duties on imported supplies of around 30%. China accounts for roughly 75% of tire imports, predominantly in the budget segment.

In the spring, the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) asked Russian tire producers for information on their production and shipment volumes for 2025, as well as on exports. The request covered both domestic supply and export flows, giving the regulator a view of how much of the market local plants actually serve.

Record Chinese shipments in June

On 30 July it became known that shipments of passenger car tires from China to Russia in June 2026 had doubled year on year, both in units and in value. That was the strongest monthly result on record according to all available Chinese customs data going back to 2015. The June jump may be a consequence of the special safeguard investigation launched in May into passenger and light commercial vehicle tires imported into the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

The scale of the increase matters because the comparison base was already high: before the June surge, China supplied about three quarters of all imported tires.

• Instrument: special safeguard investigation by the EEC, opened in May
• Products covered: passenger and light commercial vehicle tires imported into the EAEU
• Possible outcome: quotas or duties on imported supplies of around 30%
• China's share of tire imports: about 75%, mostly budget segment
• June 2026: Chinese passenger car tire shipments to Russia doubled year on year in units and value, a record in data since 2015

What is at stake

A safeguard measure adopted by the EEC applies to the customs territory of the EAEU as a whole rather than to Russia alone, so a duty or quota would reach imports entering through any member state. For Chinese manufacturers, whose products dominate the low-price end of the Russian replacement market, a levy of around 30% would fall on the segment where price competition is sharpest.

The choice of instrument also matters. A quota caps volume and hands the scarcity premium to whoever holds the allocation; a duty leaves volumes to the market but lifts the landed cost of every unit. Importers, distributors and retail chains would feel the two options very differently.

Two further variables will shape the impact: the level at which any measure is set, and the stock accumulated by importers before it takes effect. The June record indicates that buyers moved volume forward once the investigation was under way. Russian producers, who filed the complaint in April, are seeking protection on the grounds that rising imports have damaged the domestic market, and the ministry has tied its support to the EEC confirming exactly that.