Interpretation ID: aiam3385
Deputy Director and Chief Engineer
Shanghai No. 1 Rubber Plant
Shanghai
CHINA;
Dear Mr. Deng: This responds to your November 17, 1980 letter in which you requeste information about the steps your manufacturing plant must take to comply with this agency's requirements for selling tires in the United States. Your letter stated that your main products are truck tires.; All truck tires (for both light and heavy-weight vehicles) importe into the United States must comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 119 (49 CFR S571.119). I have enclosed a copy of this standard for your information. You will see that the standard specifies performance requirements (strength, endurance, and high speed performance), marking requirements (treadwear indicators and labeling information), and tire and rim matching information requirements.; Concerning the performance requirements, your letter asked how man sets of each tire size must be delivered to this agency for testing and how the costs are paid. The European nations require manufacturers to deliver tires for testing before they can be sold, but this country does not. For our purposes, the manufacturer itself must certify that its tires comply with the requirements of Standard No. 119. After the manufacturer determines that the tires comply with the requirements, the manufacturer stamps the letters 'DOT' on the tire to accomplish the certification. This agency then makes spot checks of tires, by purchasing some from a dealer and testing the tires according to the procedures set forth in Standard 119. However, there is no advance approval procedure by the agency.; It is a simple matter to check the tire to see that the markin requirements have been followed. I should note that the U.S. Customs Service will not allow tires without a DOT marking to enter the United States.; With respect to the tire and rim matching, this information, as well a the loading schedules for the tire size (showing the maximum load the tire can carry at designated inflation pressures) must either be set forth in a current trade association manual or be furnished by manufacturers to dealers of the tires and in duplicate to this agency. If you wish to obtain a copy of the current manual published by the American tire manufacturers to see if the tire sizes manufactured by your plant are listed therein, you may send $8.50 plus postage costs to: The Tire and Rim Association, 3200 West Market Street, Akron, OH 44313. If the tire sizes and corresponding rims which you manufacture are listed in that manual, you have complied with this requirement. If the sizes are not listed, you may consult other trade associations, or you may exercise the option to furnish the information to your dealers and to this agency.; I am enclosing a copy of another regulation that would also apply t your tires, 49 CFR Part 574, *Tire Identification and Record Keeping*. This requires every tire sold in this country to be labeled with certain information (see S574.5), including the manufacturer's identification mark. To obtain an identification mark, you should follow the steps set forth in S574.6 of this regulation.; Further, this regulation requires each manufacturer to furnish forms t its tire dealers to record the names and addresses of the first purchasers of these tires. The dealers must then return the completed forms to the tire manufacturer, or some party designated by the manufacturer to receive these forms. This is necessary in case the manufacturer must recall the tires because they fail to comply with Standard 119 or because the tires have a safety-related defect. It may be necessary for you to make arrangements with some party in this country to store the completed forms for you.; Finally, I am enclosing a procedural rule, which applies to all partie subject to the regulations of this agency (49 CFR Part 551). This regulation requires all manufacturers to designate a permanent resident of the United States as the manufacturer's agent for service of process in this country. The agent may be either an individual or a business entity. This designation must be in writing and in a form which is valid and binding under Chinese law. Such designation must provide the information set forth in S551.45(b) and be mailed to: Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590.; I hope that this information helps you and that the trade relationshi between our countries will be a long and fruitful one. If you need any further information, or clarification of some of the information set forth in this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me.; Sincerely, Frank Berndt, Chief Counsel