Durban - Consumers, particularly those who use taxis, could be faced with even higher transport costs, the Tyre Importers Association of South Africa warned this week.
This comes after Continental, Bridgestone, Goodyear, and Sumitomo - collectively known as the South African Tyre Manufacturers Conference - applied to have additional duties imposed on tyres imported from China.
The Tyre Importers Association said if the application was successful, it would have a material impact on the price of tyres across the board, and that it was therefore opposing the application to the International Trade Administration Commission to impose additional duties of between 8 and 69% on passenger, taxi, bus and truck vehicle tyres imported from China.
Charl de Villiers the chairperson of the Tyre Importers Association said the application for duties was absurd since the applicants collectively imported 80% of the tyres they sold. .
“Even more concerning is that vehicle owners, when faced with such dramatic cost increases, may trade down to second hand or illicit tyres, or simply delay replacing their tyres, which places every road user at greater risk of accidents,” he said.
The spokesperson for the National Taxi Alliance, Theo Malele, said the government should be looking at ways to curb the increasing cost of transport.
“We already estimate that taxi fares need to rise by up to 30% due to rampant petrol price increases. If tyres go up by 41%, it will have a devastating impact on our sector, and on commuters who rely on us to transport them to and from work.”
Malele said the government must intervene as a matter of urgency to reject the application for an increase in duties.
The Independent on Saturday