At Ritbearing, we’re very selective about which bearing supplies we offer to our customers. We pride ourselves on our relationships with bearing manufacturers around the world. These connections allow us to offer the best bearing supplies from each manufacturer, and to provide the quality, affordability, and product availability that our customers need to succeed.
Of course, part of this process involves identifying which bearing supplies we either won’t provide or try to avoid, whether they don’t meet our standards or are cost-ineffective. Tapered roller bearings manufactured in China are an example of a product that we tend to not sell due to anti-dumping duties that affect the price of these parts.
WHAT IS AN ANTI-DUMPING DUTY?
Investopedia defines anti-dumping duties as “a protectionist tariff that a domestic government imposes on foreign products that it believes are priced below fair market value.” In the U.S., that means that the International Trade Commission (ITC) will slap a fee on a product. In this case, it affects tapered roller bearings manufactured in China.
The logic behind these duties is that they will help protect U.S. companies and save domestic jobs. Duties can often come close to or exceed 100 percent of a product’s value, effectively counteracting a foreign company’s ability to provide a price that is deemed by the ITC as below fair market value. In the case of tapered roller bearings, the duty rate is 92.84 percent, which nearly doubles the cost of the part.
THE EFFECTS OF ANTI-DUMPING DUTIES ON CHINESE TAPERED ROLLER BEARINGS
While there are many examples of anti-dumping duties on foreign products, the ITC decided to add these tariffs to certain Chinese tapered roller bearings in 1975. In the years since, the ITC has reviewed the anti-dumping duties and continually determined that removing the duties would likely harm the bearing industry in the U.S. This has led these parts to become much more expensive for American buyers.
While most Chinese tapered roller bearings are affected by anti-dumping duties, there is a petition out to have these duties applied to similar bearings from South Korea as well. The National Law Review reports that the petition claims certain types of tapered roller bearings made by South Korean manufacturers are dumping their imports at an unfair value. If the ITC determines that this is the case, anti-dumping duties would be applied, effectively raising the prices of these parts.
PROVIDING TAPERED ROLLER BEARINGS WITHOUT THE DUTIES
We actively pursue bearing options that make sense both for your applications and your wallet. Anti-dumping duties can turn parts into pricey afterthoughts, so we can work with you to find a quality tapered roller bearing solution. Contact us today to talk to one of our experts about which tapered roller bearings are right for your business.