Macbeth
Banned
+2,444|5555

In one of his first major decisions on trade policy, President Obama opted Friday to impose a tariff on tires from China, a move that fulfills his campaign promise to "crack down" on imports that unfairly undermine American workers but risks angering the nation's second-largest trading partner.

The decision is intended to bolster the ailing U.S. tire industry, in which more than 5,000 jobs have been lost over the past five years as the volume of Chinese tires in the market has tripled.

It comes at a sensitive time, however. Leaders from the world's largest economies are preparing to gather in Pittsburgh in less than two weeks to discuss more cooperation amid tensions over trade.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co … 57_pf.html

So do you think Hannity and Rush are going to overlook this story or spin it someway against obama?
Mekstizzle
WALKER
+3,611|6591|London, England
That's actually pretty big, 35% on all Chicom tires. All it means is that production will be ramped up in other countries where it doesn't apply, it's not gonna save the US Industry or help that much. All it does is create more diplomatic tension, a situation where people in the US think if they can complain loud enough the US will resort to protectionism and possible trade wars...

At the end of the day there's not much you can do about cheap imports... it's not their fault they can manufacture something, ship it halfway across the damn world and put it on sale in the US, and have it still be cheaper than the same thing made just across the road from the store...


Sounds like an unwise protectionist move...
Superior Mind
(not macbeth)
+1,755|6663
The rubber grown in China's south west is the product of the deforestation of lush rainforest.
S3v3N
lolwut?
+685|6488|Montucky

Superior Mind wrote:

The rubber grown in China's south west is the product of the deforestation of lush rainforest.
wha?
Harmor
Error_Name_Not_Found
+605|6518|San Diego, CA, USA
China will retaliate...

But what else can we do to justify the inequities between manufacturing conditions between our two countries?  The United States has a 39% Corporate tax and regulations up the wassu...no wonder businesses leave our country.

In the end the American consumer will be left with paying more for everything.

Last edited by Harmor (2009-09-13 14:08:55)

Turquoise
O Canada
+1,596|6375|North Carolina
As Mek mentioned, it doesn't make much sense to put tariffs on one producer of a good with the hopes of increasing jobs here when there are several other producers abroad that will simply take up the slack.

If Obama was really aiming for increasing jobs here, he'd have to put a tariff on all foreign producers of tires, not just China.

What makes more sense than completely free trade or protectionism, however, is reciprocal trade.  Put tariffs only on producers that put tariffs on your goods.

The idea is this: if you can honestly tell your trading partners that you will only open your trade as much as they do for your products, then trade becomes more balanced in the end, and comparative advantage is optimal.

Unfortunately, as things currently stand, America has one of the most open markets in the world, while most of our trading partners are considerably more protectionist.  This unfairly harms American production and is much of the reason why we have a massive trade deficit.
13/f/taiwan
Member
+940|5669

S3v3N wrote:

Superior Mind wrote:

The rubber grown in China's south west is the product of the deforestation of lush rainforest.
wha?
China kills trees and its beautiful rainforest to make $$$.
Dilbert_X
The X stands for
+1,810|6076|eXtreme to the maX
This is going to get very messy and unpleasant for everyone.

Either the developed world needs to come down to china's standard of living, which won't be nice, or china needs to come up to the same standard as everyone else - which will suck up the remaining natural resources and bring about planetary destruction much quicker.
Русский военный корабль, иди на хуй!
Turquoise
O Canada
+1,596|6375|North Carolina

Dilbert_X wrote:

This is going to get very messy and unpleasant for everyone.

Either the developed world needs to come down to china's standard of living, which won't be nice, or china needs to come up to the same standard as everyone else - which will suck up the remaining natural resources and bring about planetary destruction much quicker.
Sort of...  Globalization will likely even out the standard of living in the long run.  The Chinese will live better, but the First World will be less decadent.

Still, it would be much more reasonable if the developing world opened its markets more.
13urnzz
Banned
+5,830|6467

i just saw that China is retaliating on American auto imports.
didn't see that coming.
FEOS
Bellicose Yankee Air Pirate
+1,182|6381|'Murka

Why the focus on tires? 5k jobs over five years? That's a tiny fraction of the jobs lost in the last quarter.

I think the conservative talking heads mentioned in the OP will see it as the govt interfering in the free market...just like they did when tariffs came up during Bush's administration.
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
― Albert Einstein

Doing the popular thing is not always right. Doing the right thing is not always popular
Dilbert_X
The X stands for
+1,810|6076|eXtreme to the maX
Why the focus on tires?
Don't know in this case, but the Chinese do focus on specific industries, dump products in markets at prices below those which local manufacturers can produce, wait for them to go bust and then jack their prices up when the competition is dead.

In Aus there is a fuss at present over Chinese solar panels being dumped killing our few manufacturers.

That or its a feeble shot across their bows.
Русский военный корабль, иди на хуй!

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