Denman Tire of Braceville is among the makers of off-the-road tires helped by federal regulators’ preliminary decision to impose anti-dumping duties on tires fromChina, a union said Thursday.

‘‘Today’s decision will help level the playing field for U.S. workers by requiring Chinese tire imports to be priced fairly,’’ United Steelworkers International President Leo W. Gerard said.

The U.S. Commerce Department ruling means all importers of off-road tires fromChina will have to post a bond or cash deposit equal to the margin amounts pending the final determination by early June, the union said.

The agency will continue by holding hearings, conducting verifications of information, and reaching a final determination.

The International Trade Commission also will investigate the issue of injury and reach a determination on that issue later, the union said.

If both Commerce and the ITC issue final affirmative determinations, an anti-dumping duty order will be issued and future imports of the tires fromChina will be assessed with remedial duties to compensate for the unfair pricing, the union said.

The Steelworkers and Titan, a producer of off-road tires, also filed a countervailing duty petition last June, saying that Chinese OTR tires were unfairly benefiting from subsidies. Commerce issued its affirmative preliminary determination in that proceeding in December. The two proceedings will now move ahead on the same schedule.

The Steelworkers estimated it represents 70 percent of the domestic OTR tire makers with workers employed at Titan production plants employing about 1,355 workers inDes Moines,Iowa;Freeport,Ill.; andBryan,Ohio. It said it also represents about 4,215 employed at tire plants of Bridgestone-Firestone inDes Moines andBloomington,Ill.; Denman Tire and Goodyear Tire and Rubber inTopeka,Kan., andBuffalo,N.Y.

February 9, 2008

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