It did not take long to get reflationary measures from China. According to the Shenzhen Daily’s 14 Sept edition
China’s Ministry of Commerce said the measure was not in the interests of either China or the United States. It was “a bad signal to send to the world before the G20 (in the United States), which could set off a chain reaction of protectionist measures likely to slow down the global economic recovery,” it added in a statement.
“By taking this unprecedented action, the Obama administration is now at odds with its own public statements about refraining from increasing tariffs,” Vic DeIorio, executive vice president of GITI Tire in the U.S., said in a statement. “This decision will cost many more American jobs than it will create.”
Since the Steelworkers filed their petition in April, tire imports from China rose as importers raced to beat the imposition of tariffs or quotas. The tariffs Obama imposed are in addition to existing 4 percent duties on all Chinese tires for cars and light trucks.
All of the U.S. tire makers have operations in China, according to the ITC, and none of them publicly supported the Steelworkers complaint. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., the largest U.S. tiremaker, stayed neutral. Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., the second-largest U.S. tiremaker, opposed the relief. The company has a plant in China.
China’s tire exports are “mainly” supplied to the automobile maintenance market in the United States, while those made by local producers are supplied to the car producers, China’s commerce ministry said. “They are not in direct competition,” it added.
Source: Shezhen Daily