Lawmakers Seek Study of Chinese Tyre Tariff Effects

In the USA Lawmakers from Texas and Oklahoma called on Thursday for a government report on the economy-wide effects of the 35 per cent tariff that President Barack Obama imposed on tyre imports from China, reports Tire Review. “I am concerned that the administration's tyre tax will cost us jobs in the United States and raise prices for tyres for hardworking Americans,” representative Kevin Brady, a Texas Republican, said in a statement. “I want to make sure that the administration has all the facts so that it can best determine how and when to end that tax.”

In September 2009, the Obama Administration ordered a three-year tiered added tariff on imported China-made consumer tyres – 35 per cent for the first year, 30 per cent for the second and 25 per cent for the third – supporting a complaint filed by the United Steelworkers, who said their jobs were threatened by imports from China.

Brady said the administration should consider ending the tax earlier if it is hurting American consumers and not delivering promised new jobs. He and Representative Dan Boren, an Oklahoma Democrat, urged U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk to establish a comprehensive monitoring system to assess the impact of the import tax on U.S. employment, tyre prices and auto safety.

They said they had seen reports of significant tyre price increases in many areas of the country, including poorer neighbourhoods, and anecdotal evidence of layoffs in tyre distribution and retail sectors.