*

Pirelli wants to expand production capacity in US

*

Vice chair: US local authorities object due to Chinese

investor

*

Pirelli says seeking to address issues with investor

Sinochem

*

Key board meeting scheduled for April 28

(Rewrites with details, context)

MILAN, April 11 (Reuters) - Pirelli has put on

hold plans to invest further in the United States as it tries to

smooth out tensions linked to having Chinese state-owned group

Sinochem as its largest investor, the Italian tyre

maker said on Friday.

Sinochem has a 37% stake in Pirelli and is at odds with the

company and its Italian shareholders over governance, at a time

when being seen as a Chinese-linked business is increasingly

proving an obstacle for doing business in the U.S., one of

Pirelli's key markets.

Pirelli makes around 25% of its revenues in North America,

which it mostly serves through its plants in Mexico, South

America and Europe, although it also runs a smaller facility in

the U.S. state of Georgia.

The Italian government intervened in 2023 to curb Sinochem's

powers in Pirelli and shield management's autonomy.

Responding on Friday to a media report, Pirelli said its

desire to increase its production capacity in the U.S. "has been

known for some time".

"At the moment, however, nothing has been decided given the

regulatory obstacles linked to questions of governance and

shareholder structure regarding which ... evaluations and

in-depth analyses with Sinochem are still ongoing," it said in a

statement.

The Corriere della Sera daily said on Friday that Paolo

Zampolli, U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy for global

partnerships, hoped that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni

would announce an investment by Pirelli during her visit to the

White House on April 17.

Zampolli said Pirelli would invest $1 billion in Georgia to

produce so-called smart tyres, potentially raising the

investment to $2 billion in the future.

Expanding capacity in the U.S. would help limit the impact

of U.S. tariffs, but Washington has also decided to crack down

on Chinese technology in the automotive industry, banning key

software and hardware from Chinese-controlled companies.

Marco Trochetti Provera, the Italian businessman at the helm

of Pirelli since 1992 and now its executive vice-chairman, said

early this week that U.S. local authorities were raising

objections in negotiations on plans to expand the group's

capacity in the country due to Sinochem's stake.

Tronchetti's vehicle Camfin controls a 26.4% stake in

Pirelli.

Shareholders are now discussing possible solutions ahead of

a board meeting on April 28.