Tire Maker Pirelli Has No Plans to Invest in The U.S.

Pirelli is not planning any investments in the United States at this time, the tire maker said, contradicting a report in an Italian newspaper, Reuters journalist Alessia Pé reported.

Tensions between Pirelli’s Chinese and Italian shareholders have intensified amid US efforts to restrict Chinese influence in the automotive sector. I Photo: Pirelli Facebook

Corriere della Sera reported that Paolo Zampolli, US President Donald Trump's special envoy for global partnerships, hoped that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni would announce an investment by Pirelli during her recent visit to the White House.

Zampolli stated that Pirelli would invest $1 billion in the US state of Georgia to produce so-called smart tires, with the potential to increase the investment to $2 billion in the future.

“At the moment, nothing has been decided, given the regulatory obstacles linked to questions of governance and shareholder structure,” Pirelli said in a statement.

Pirelli Executive Vice Chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera said this week that the company is facing difficulties investing in the US because its largest shareholder is China's state-owned Sinochem.

Tensions between Pirelli’s Chinese and Italian shareholders have intensified amid US efforts to restrict Chinese influence in the automotive sector, including bans on key software and hardware from Chinese-controlled companies.