U.S. Trade Spat with China Escalates, But is Unlikely to Cause a Significant Rift
Posted on September 22nd, 2009 in Bloomberg, China, ITC, NUE, NY Times, Nucor, Tariff, Tires, US Steel, USA, WTO, X Bloomberg, China, ITC, Nucor, NUE, NY Times, Tariff, Tires, US Steel, USA, WTO, X
Shortly after U.S. President Barack Obama announced hefty import duties on Chinese-made tires, China’s Ministry of Commerce over the weekend said it would explore possible sanctions against U.S. automobile and chicken imports.
The dispute has caused some concern over an escalation in protectionist measures between the two nations, but few analysts believe the dispute will spiral out of control and threaten a global recovery.
President Obama on Friday signed an order that imposes a 35% tariff on tires imported from China on top of the existing 4% duty. The order came mainly at the behest of the United Steelworkers union, which says 5,000 union jobs have been lost since 2004 because low-cost Chinese tires flooding the market. From 2004 to 2008, the number of tire imports from China has tripled.



