Tariffs On China Built Tires? Whoa!
by Joel Hendon(562)
President Obama imposed a new 35% tariff which was added onto an already 4% on foreign built tires from China on Friday, last. I probably will disagree with most economists, but once again, I go with Obama. Not often do I agree with him but in this I do. I think, however, that our motives are entirely different. China is up in arms about it and are threatening to impose their own tariffs onto our exported farm products and autos. But let them howl. I have never been one who approved of all of this free trade crap. We’ve watched too many industries die and move to other countries who pay families pennies per day for the parents and children to perform production work.
But Obama only made this move because of the trade unions uproar over the huge amount of tires being imported from China. They contend that a sudden surge in those imports have resulted in some 7,000 layoffs here in the U.S. These are the people of whom he said that ’he owes them’ and when he is informed that one of them called him, he tries to get right back to them. China calls it a “grave act of protectionism” and they are considering just what steps to take in retaliation. Their minister of commerce, Mr. Chen Deming says, “Not only does it violate WTO rules, it contravenes commitments the US government made at the [April] G20 financial summit.”
I’ve often wondered why several presidents in the past stood idly by and watched large industries struggle and fail until they were forced to retreat to foreign countries in order to compete. The gigantic electronics industry was the first to bite the dirt I think, then came textiles and finally much of the automobile business. Now the only thing which is causing the president to act in this case is an effort to protect the very people who were the prime factor in our becoming so lacking in competitiveness.
Yao Jian, a spokesman for the Beijing commerce ministry said they have requested sanction discussions with the WTO (World Trade Organization) and says also that president Obama’s actions were against WTO rules.
Here is a paragraph taken from FT.com (Financial Times of London):
The US earlier warned Beijing against taking retaliatory action. “Retaliation would be inappropriate, as the United States acted entirely within the bounds of trade laws and within the safeguard provision that China itself agreed to upon accession to the World Trade Organisation,” said an official from the Office of the United States Trade Representative.
This disagreement has arisen less than two weeks before Obama is scheduled to host the G20 summit in Pittsburgh, also shortly before his planned visit to China in November. Little wonder why Michelle is looking unhappy these days.
Another factor which makes the president right in this action, to me, is that our trade deficit in July was the largest in over a decade. This is another factor which is hurting our economy and the Dollar. We have been exporting far less than we are importing for many years now, meaning more and more of our funds are in foreign hands.
Article submitted Monday, September 14, 2009 & read 62 times.
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