Associated Press
BEIJING — The Chinese maker of tires at the center of a U.S. recall controversy denied Wednesday that it supplied faulty products and accused its American distributor of making the claim to gain an advantage in a commercial dispute.
U.S. regulators have ordered Foreign Tire Sales Inc., of Union, N.J., to recall as many as 450,000 tires after the company said an unknown number of light truck radials imported from Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co., of Hangzhou, China, could suffer tread separation.
“We have not found the faults cited by FTS,” Hangzhou Zhongce said in a written statement. It said its tires met U.S. safety standards and FTS’ specifications.
Hangzhou Zhongce accused FTS of making the claims because of a dispute that led the U.S. company to sue its Chinese partner in May.
“We believe this is merely an effort by FTS Co. to stir up a fuss due to this lawsuit,” Hangzhou Zhongce said.
FTS, which has imported light truck radials from Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber since 2002, said in a June 11 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration filing that an unknown number of the tires it sold were made without a safety feature, called a gum strip, which helps bind the belts of a tire to each other. But the company says it can’t afford to pay for a recall.
FTS sued Hangzhou in U.S. District Court last month, charging that its tests found that the tires may fail early. The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages and an injunction that would bar Hangzhou products from being imported.
According to the NHTSA filing, the Hangzhou tires at issue were sold under at least four brand names — Westlake, Compass, Telluride and YKS — in these sizes: LT235/75R-15; LT225/75R-16; LT235/85R-16; LT245/75R-16; LT265/75R-16; and LT3X10.5-15.
The tire trouble comes amid safety concerns involving other Chinese products.
In recent months, U.S. inspectors have banned or turned away Chinese exports containing high levels of toxins or potentially deadly chemicals, including frozen fish, juice and toothpaste. Chinese wheat gluten tainted with the chemical melamine was blamed for recent dog and cat deaths in North America.
Other recent recalls involved Chinese-made children’s toys that contained potentially poisonous lead paint.
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Tags: tire, Foreign Tire Sales Inc., Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co.
Categories: Automotive News
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