The Commission voted 6-0 to move the complaint – filed by Titan International, Bridgestone/Firestone, Denman Tire and the Steelworkers – forward.

Titan and the USW filed the original complaint in June, and were later joined by Bridgestone/Firestone and Denman, both of which also produce small agricultural and OTR tires in question.

Despite the ruling, the ITC will revisit the case next year. The U.S. Commerce Department, meanwhile, will also render its decision on the dumping claims. That ruling is not expected until October.

The U.S. tiremaker complaint seeks anti-dumping duties of up to 210% on Chinese produced ag and OTR tires, and other tariffs to make up for alleged government subsidies.

"Large margins of underselling exist, which are causing domestic producers to suffer substantial lost sales and lost revenues," Titan claimed in its filed petition.

Some 17 Chinese companies are fighting the effort, claiming that U.S. companies are not being harmed by imports.

In response to the probe, China’s Commerce Ministry said the investigations were “not only extremely unfair towards Chinese manufacturers…[they were] also not helpful for developing mutually beneficial bilateral economic and trade relations.”

China Ministry of Commerce spokesman Wang Xinpei called the investigation an “unwise, wrong move,” and claimed the U.S. anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations were an abuse of World Trade Organization rules.

“We are very encouraged that the Commerce Department voted to proceed with the investigation, 6-0,” said Titan Chairman and CEO Morry Taylor. “We still have a long way to go, but the important part of this whole process is determining what is fair and lawful. The American working men and women can be as competitive as anyone in the world, but when foreign governments subsidize and carry unlawful trade practices, then the U.S. government must even the playing field.”