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The tire tariff will amount to 35 percent the first year, 30 percent the second and 25 percent the third.
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Marguerite Trossevin, who represents a coalition of U.S. tire companies that import Chinese tires, said the tariff decision is "very disappointing." She predicted price increases for U.S. consumers and losses for U.S. tire importers.
"For the U.S. tire distributors and consumers, there's going to be a heavy burden to bear," she said. "It sends the message that special interests will get protection if they ask for it -- regardless of what that means for broader trade policy."
China's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement early Saturday that the move violated WTO rules. "China strongly opposes this serious act of trade protectionism by the U.S," the ministry said, according to the Associated Press.
Not surprisingly, there were conflicting predictions about what effect the tariff might have on the U.S. industry.
Supporters said the measure would have only a negligible effect on the price of tires and would lead U.S. manufacturers to invest in their U.S. plants.
The tariff's detractors said higher tire prices could lead some consumers to wait longer before replacing tires, creating a safety risk. Moreover, they said, the tariff won't result in more jobs. Tires will simply come in from other low-cost countries, they say, and U.S. manufacturers, keep making their cheaper tires in China.
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"It'll kill people! It'll kill jobs! And it won't matter anyway!"
You have some people who disagree with you about what's "perfectly reasonable". ;-) While in practice there may be no fully "free-trade" the short-hand stands for a regulatory mindset that has dramatically reduced tariffs in the last 60 years.
Yeah, the DK piece was over the top in the language used. But the underlying point is important, if perhaps overstated - there are significant consequences to removing tariffs when your trading partner does not operate in a similar arena (due to differences in costs, regulations, corruption, etc.). It is not an unconditional good to trade with someone who can provide goods at lower prices. Lower selling prices is not the only important metric.
Oh, and I don't understand your comment about locomotive imports. The US imported them from Britain - e.g. http://books.google....onepage&q&f=false
Cheers,
Scott.