Government keeps 25% import duty on passenger car tires

Passenger car tires will continue to be taxed at an import duty rate of 25% for the next twelve months. This was decided by Gecex-Camex, the Executive Management Committee of the Foreign Trade Chamber, during a meeting held on Tuesday, the 23rd. The National Tire Industry Association (Anip) had requested an increase in the duty from 25% to 35%—the maximum allowed—but the committee opted to maintain last year’s rate:

“Gecex deliberated on renewing measures to protect domestic industry against import surges arising from the current international situation, affecting passenger car tires.”

For the Brazilian Association of Tire Importers and Distributors (Abidip), the decision represents a victory for consumers. Its president, Ricardo Alípio da Costa, argued that if the increase had been approved, “it would have had a direct impact on people’s pockets, penalizing precisely those who most depend on cars to work and generate income.”

Leading the opposition to Anip’s request, Abidip maintains that the proposed increase is unjustified “since the domestic industry does not produce on a significant scale the most popular tires most used by society.” Anip countered through its CEO, Rodrigo Navarro: “Brazil has enough installed capacity to meet domestic demand. We do not intend to prevent access to foreign tires, but rather to ensure they compete with domestic production on equal terms.”

According to Navarro, imports remain high, with 57% of the domestic market composed of imported tires, compared to 43% domestic, a trend observed since 2022. He pointed out that China alone accounts for more than 70% of imports, with prices up to 40% lower.

“This shows that the 25% tariff was a first step, but insufficient to curb the entry of foreign tires at artificially low prices. Without a proper tariff level, comparable to what other countries already apply—such as Mexico, which imposes a 35% tariff on passenger car tires—Brazil becomes a natural destination for this surplus.”

For years, the association has campaigned for raising the tariff to reduce the inflow of imported items, mainly from Asia.

According to Anip’s latest report, tire sales in Brazil fell 0.8% between January and July, totaling 22.4 million units compared with the same period in 2024. The decline was driven by the replacement market, which decreased by 6.1% during the period, with 14.716 million tires sold.

Imports fell 14.2% over the same period, reaching 27.1 million units.

As for passenger car tires, 18.7 million units were sold in the first seven months of the year, a slight 0.1% decrease compared with the same period last year. Anip does not disclose import volumes by segment.

Source: Autodata

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