Help sought in Chinese tire recall after accident

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A New Jersey importer has asked the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for help in recalling about 450,000 light-truck tires made in China after a fatal rollover crash.

The recall under circumstances reminiscent of the recall of millions of Firestone tires a few years ago is the latest of high profile incidents involving China-made products imported to the United States from tainted pet food to toys with lead paint.

The tires, made by Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co., have an insufficient or missing gum strip -- a safety feature to prevent belts from separating -- Foreign Tire Sales Inc. of New Jersey said in a report to the safety administration on June 11.

Foreign Tire Sales told U.S. safety officials tires sold under the names Westlake, Telluride, Compass and YKS could fail at highway speeds. It also told federal officials at least six other U.S. distributors had sold tires of similar construction by the same manufacturer.

The importer also said a full recall might be forthcoming, but would force it into bankruptcy because it did not have the financial resources necessary, something that has rankled the NHTSA officials and a consumer safety group.

"One of the things that concerns us greatly is that anyone can import these tires into the United States and there is no requirement that you have the ability to pay for a recall if one is required," said Sean Kane, president of consumer group Safety Research & Strategies.

A representative of Foreign Tire Sales could not be reached immediately for comment.

The importer said in its report to authorities that it began to be concerned about the tires in October 2005 as warranty claims increased. In May 2006, it learned of a nonfatal accident caused by belt-separation in New Mexico.

FTS said it stopped buying the light-truck tires from Hangzhou Zhongce in June 2006 and conducted further investigation to determine the scope of the problem.

The importer was served with lawsuits in connection with a fatal roll-over crash in Pennsylvania in May and filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against Hangzhou Zhongce on May 30.

"The responsible thing is to recall these tires and they are dragging their feet," said Jeffrey Killino, a lawyer representing the families of people involved in the Pennsylvania crash that killed two people.

Safety Research & Strategies is urging retailers and wholesalers to stop selling the tires.

Xu Youming, head of Hangzhou's legal department, confirmed FTS had sued his company in the United States, but declined to comment further. Xu said his company was considering launching a countersuit against FTS in China.

Hangzhou Zhongce has a dispute with FTS over a previously signed contract, but the Chinese company's products have no quality problem, he said. "FTS is only one of our distributors in America," he said. "If our products have a quality problem, how come the other distributors haven't sued us?"

Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire LLC, a unit of Japan's Bridgestone Corp., launched the largest tire recall in history in 2000 and 2001.

(Additional reporting by Nick Zieminski in New York and Fang Yan in Shanghai)