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China's tire exports smacks of protectionism and appealed to
Washington to avoid taking steps that might harm relations. The
government of President Barack Obama is deciding what action to take
after the US International Trade Commission ruled in June that
increased imports of Chinese tires were harming American tire
producers. 'I believe the case is neither supported by facts nor
does it have valid legal grounds,' a deputy commerce minister, Fu
Ziying, said at a news conference. 'It is against basic WTO
principles and looks like trade protectionism,' Fu said. 'We hope the
US government will refrain from taking action, for the long-term
healthy and stable development of US-Chinese relations.' In
addition to tires, Washington has launched a series of investigations
into whether Chinese exporters were dumping goods including wooden
bedroom furniture, honey, candles, gift boxes, industrial chemicals
and fresh garlic. The union that brought the latest case, the
United Steelworkers, says Chinese tire exports to the United States
more than tripled in the 2004-08 period to 41 million tires a year.
The union said that led to the loss of 5,100 American jobs and
another 3,000 jobs could be lost this year. The union is urging
Obama to cap imports of Chinese tires at 21 million per year. Fu
said that while Chinese tire exports to the United States increased,
profits for US tire producers doubled over the same period. 'So we
can conclude that China's exports of tire products to the United
States posed no material injury to US tire makers,' he said. Fu
said the case was prompted by the financial problems suffered by US
auto and tire producers due to the country's economic crisis. 'They
are blaming China or Chinese products for their decreasing profits,'
Fu said.
