Disputing the United Steel Workers contention that the 35 percent tariff on Chinese tire imports has been a success in its first year of implementation, the Tire Industry Association (TIA) is calling for either an immediate end to the tariff or a more complete analysis of its impact.
“Certain parties with a clear agenda are claiming they have data that demonstrates the success of the tariffs. We know that most of this data is, in reality, anecdotal, and we believe they are also distorting other data by obscuring critical details,” says TIA Executive Vice President Roy Littlefield.
Littlefield asserts that “if the President will not eliminate this punitive tariff, at the very least his administration owes the tire industry an objective and accurate report that will specifically compare tire imports from China to tire imports from other Asian countries on a current-year versus previous-year basis, and to identify exactly which tire lines are now being manufactured by U.S. tire makers.”
The organization urges the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) “to fulfill its obligation under section 421 of the Trade Act of 1974 to collect accurate, objective data on the tariff’s effects. Under the provision, after six months, the President has the option to modify, reduce or terminate the relief that has been granted. The provision also clearly states that the USITC, ‘. . . upon the granting of relief under subsection (k) of this section, shall collect such data as is necessary to allow it to respond rapidly to a request by the President . . .’”
Paul Fiore, the TIA’s director of government and business relations, reports that “we have a compelling case to take to Congress, and we intend to keep the pressure on the USITC until we are comfortable that this data collection process is completed.”
For more information, visit www.tireindustry.org.
