International Law

US-China Tire Case Part II - US Politics

By Stan

I’m still plugging along on this case. I think it is shaping up to be quite important and may end up setting the tone for the bilateral trade relationship for the next 6-12 months, unfortunately in a bad way.

To recap Part I, the Obama administration decided to use a special safeguard mechanism that China agreed to when it joined the WTO that allows the US, and other Member States, to slap tariffs on Chinese imports that have surged and have harmed/posed a harm to US enterprises.

Why did Obama choose to make this decision? Remember that this was optional. There was no violation of trade law by the Chinese exporters, and US tire manufacturers were not the ones seeking redress. So why did this happen? Let’s take a look at the political context.
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Full post as published by China Hearsay on September 21, 2009 (boomark / email).