Obama to Decide Next Week on Chinese Tire Tariffs
The Obama administration will decide by next week whether to put a 55% import tariff on imported Chinese tires, which are gaining a growing share of the U.S. market, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.
Chinese tire market share has risen to 17% in the United States, up from just 5% five years ago, the paper said in a front-page story.
U.S. tire makers such as Cooper Tire and Rubber Co. have closed domestic plants, including one in Albany, Ga., even as the company has supported and trained workers in China for imports, the Post said.
Congress passed legislation in 2000 that allows tariffs and other protections if a surge in Chinese imports damages a U.S. industry, and China agreed to the provision while negotiating to join the World Trade Organization, the Post said.
But most U.S. tire companies, and Chinese government officials, oppose the tariffs as a barrier to free trade. Similar tariffs had been rejected by the Bush administration four times, the story said.
