Reading: US Union Gears Up for Last Ditch Plea to Restrict Tyres Imported from China

By Oliver Hall

The United Steelworkers (USW) union has requested an appearance before the US Trade Representative (USTR) in the final step of the trade case to stem the tide of tyres imported from China.

The public hearing scheduled for 7^th August offers the last chance to reiterate their case after the US International Trade Commission (ITC) determined that surging low cost consumer tyre imports from China have damaged the domestic industry with lost jobs and factory shutdowns.

Last month, a majority vote of the ITC found that tariff were needed to urgently reduce tyre imports – although trade associations have questioned the effectiveness of such measures.

Leo W Gerard, President of the USW, said: “Our nation’s job loss numbers at tyre factories dramatically understate the impact China’s flooding imports have caused in the communities where our represented workers live.

“The consequences of lost tyre production jobs have extended to many thousands of other jobs in supporting industries and suppliers that have also been lost.”

The USW wants the US interagency group reviewing the ITC’s proposal to recommend that President Barack Obama support the duties.

President Obama is scheduled to make a final ruling on the case in September.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 29th, 2009 at 1:01 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.