Russian tire makers seek 30% duties on Chinese imports
Cordiant, Kama and Ikon Tyres have asked the Eurasian Economic Commission for protection against cheap Chinese tires, floating duties of around 30 percent and possible import quotas. China supplies three quarters of Russia's tire imports, worth $510 million last year.
Domestic producers petition the Eurasian Economic Commission
Russian tire manufacturers, including Cordiant, Kama and Ikon Tyres, have asked the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) to shield the domestic market from what they call excessively cheap Chinese products, Kommersant reported, citing sources, in an account relayed by Lenta.ru. The petition marks an attempt to reverse a rapid shift in the market since 2021, when the exit of leading global brands opened space that Chinese suppliers have since filled.
One measure under discussion is an import duty of around 30 percent, which would sharply raise the landed cost of foreign tires. The EEC could also cap shipments with quotas, lifting prices by curbing supply. The regulator has 30 days to review the application and decide whether to open an investigation, a period it may extend.
China dominates the budget segment
China accounts for three quarters of all tire imports into Russia, concentrated in the low-price segment. According to China's General Administration of Customs, tire shipments to Russia reached $510 million last year — 3.3 times the 2021 level, when leading global brands were still operating in the country. The threefold jump in three years illustrates how quickly Chinese suppliers moved into that space, largely with budget tires that undercut domestic lines.
Cordiant chief executive Dmitry Gorbachev said the rising share of foreign tires is causing pronounced damage to the domestic industry, which "may indicate the need to introduce special protective measures" to restore healthy competition. Amid the Chinese expansion, Russian tire plants are running at just 51 percent of capacity, and domestic output fell a further 20 percent last year.
Higher prices for the cheapest buyers
Maxim Kadakov, editor-in-chief of the magazine Za Rulem, warned that duties would fall hardest on consumers who can only afford the cheapest tires. He added that past experience suggests final prices could climb even more steeply than the tariff itself. Auto expert Vengersky said the planned 30-percent duties could push Chinese passenger-car tires out of the Russian market altogether.
For importers and distributors, the combination of a possible tariff and supply quotas points to thinner volumes and wider margins on the products that currently anchor the market's low end. Buyers dependent on entry-level tires would have the fewest alternatives if Chinese supply retreats.
A parallel ban on chemical grounds
Separately, Russia's Ministry of Industry and Trade has proposed banning imports of tires with a high content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The measure would target part of China's output, barring it from official sale in Russia. Analysts believe that, if adopted, it could remove a third of the products in the budget segment. Together, the tariff request and the chemical-content proposal represent two separate channels through which Chinese budget tires could lose access to Russia within the same period.
