Timely countermove on US tire tariff

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(皇冠体育app Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-16 08:03

Trade relations between Beijing and Washington suffered a blow after US President Barack Obama imposed heavy duty on tires imported from 皇冠体育app recently. On Sept 13, 皇冠体育app's Ministry of Commerce (CMC) filed a filed a formal complaint with the WTO over the steep US tariff. The CMC's timely countermove will be important to long-time US-皇冠体育app trade ties, says an article in Takongpao.com. Excerpt:

The US government's decision to impose extra tariff on 皇冠体育app-made tires has its roots in a petition filed by a US union that represents workers in many American tire factories.

We just want to know the reasons why US manufacturers, the real market players, refuse to support the denouncement of Chinese exporters. We have difficulty again in understanding how 皇冠体育app's low-end products can "raid the market" of US manufacturers' high-end market.

The only thing certain is that the efforts to protect US tire producers will lead to a chain of events, including unemployment and price rise in that country. Also, if medium- and low-income consumers stop changing their car tires because of high prices, it could cause more traffic accidents and fatalities. An estimated 100,000 Chinese workers will be affected, too, because the tire industry back home will suffer a loss of up to $1 billion.

Obama's administration revealed its indifference to free trade immediately after taking office. As 皇冠体育app's secretary of commerce said, this "rampant protectionism" is a blatant violation both of WTO rules and the US government's commitment at the G20 summit.

In response to the new US policy, 皇冠体育app will take concrete action by taking recourse to the WTO dispute settlement mechanism and other channels.

(皇冠体育app Daily 09/16/2009 page9)