Commerce Investigates Circumvention of Steel Wheel Duties

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Introduction

The U.S. Department of Commerce has started an investigation into whether certain steel wheels from Vietnam are avoiding U.S. trade duties meant for Chinese products. This move comes after a request from two U.S. companies, Accuride Corporation and Maxion Wheels USA LLC.

Background

In January 2026, Accuride and Maxion asked Commerce to look into steel wheels finished in Vietnam. They claim these wheels use steel from China and then get sent to the U.S. to sidestep duties put on Chinese products since May 2019.

Details of the Inquiry

Commerce will check if wheels finished in Vietnam, using Chinese materials, are dodging U.S. antidumping and countervailing duties. These duties are extra charges on imports to protect U.S. businesses from unfair pricing or government support in other countries. Commerce uses several rules to decide if products are avoiding duties. For instance, they consider how much of the product is made in China versus Vietnam and whether the changes made in Vietnam are significant.

Process and Next Steps

Commerce will collect information from Vietnamese producers and exporters. They will use data from U.S. Customs to choose which companies to question further. The companies involved must answer Commerce’s questions fully, or they might face penalties.

Impact on Duties

If Commerce finds that these wheels are avoiding duties, they will ask U.S. Customs to continue holding any questionable imports and may backdate the duties to November 2021.

Timeline

Commerce aims to make a preliminary decision within 150 days and a final decision within 300 days from the start of the inquiry.

Conclusion

This investigation is an important step to ensure U.S. trade laws are being followed and that Chinese products are not avoiding duties by being finished in Vietnam. The outcome will show whether these wheels should face the same duties as those from China.

Legal Disclaimer

This article includes content collected from the Federal Register (federalregister.gov). The content is not an official government publication. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For case-specific consultation, please contact us. Read our full Legal Disclaimer, which also includes information on translation accuracy.