The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) and its member companies have voiced their support of H.R. 8165, the Commercial Vehicle Fleet Retreaded Tire Utilization Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2022, introduced this week by Congressman Tim Ryan (OH-13). The bill would provide tax credits for fleet purchases of U.S. retreaded commercial tyres.
USTMA Support for Retreads
“Retreading of commercial tyres in the U.S. market has steadily decreased over the last 25 years, due in part to foreign alternatives for new tyres, which are 65 percent less likely to be retreaded because of their design and construction,” said Anne Forristall Luke, president and CEO of USTMA. “By providing tax credits to fleet purchasers who buy U.S. retreaded commercial tyres, the federal government would be helping to level the global playing field for U.S. tyre companies and shift the business model back in favour of retreading, which provides a highly effective way to recycle tyres with many notable economic and environmental benefits.”
As USTMA outlined in a letter to Congressional leaders earlier this year, Congress also has an opportunity to lead by example by requiring the purchase of American-made retreaded tyres for the federal fleet and any fleet under federal contract, where possible. USTMA notes there is precedent for such policies, including provisions in the Federal Vehicle Repair Cost Savings Act of 2015 that mandated the use of remanufactured replacement parts on federal fleet vehicles and a 1991 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) procurement guideline under President George H.W. Bush that required the use of retreaded tyres on federal fleet vehicles where practicable.
