Harjeeve Kandhari, the CEO of UK retreader Vaculug, has written an in-depth letter to local Grantham MP Gareth Davies and to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak asking them to support the retreading industry.
Concern Over Impact on Jobs
In particular, the letter includes an in-depth explanation of the dispute regarding EU anti-dumping duties on Chinese truck and bus tyres. Whilst it is clear that anti-dumping duties will still apply across the EU in some form or the other this year, the UK government has announced that the anti-dumping measures will expire in the UK on 23 October 2023, unless a review is initiated before July 2023.
This has resulted in Kandhari’s 5-page letter, which essentially takes the form of a passionate plea to the Government to make sure that it does everything within its power to make sure that the anti-dumping regulations are upheld for the next 10 years at least.
“The collective impact of the retreading industry in reducing global CO2 emissions and transitioning towards a more sustainable future cannot be underestimated or ignored,” wrote Kandhari. “For example, a haulage fleet that uses single-use tyres uses more than four times as many tyres to cover the same distance compared to those who use retreaded tyres.
“Such an influx of cheap single-use tyres would make the thriving retreading industry unviable, and my factory in Grantham simply wouldn’t be able to compete,” he continued, addressing Davies directly. “Therefore I’d have no choice but to terminate the employment of nearly 200 people, most of whom are living in your constituency…..The simple fact is, if the anti-dumping laws are repealed, my factory and others like it will close. This will result in 1000s of job losses across the country, all at a time when the UK can ill afford it.”
