In January, President Barack Obama announced that a tariff on the import of Chinese tires had saved at least 1,000 jobs. The tariff was introduced in 2009 as a measure to keep American distributors from buying the cheaper, poorly made Chinese tires. While the tariff originally stood at 35%, it was decreased to 25% by 2012 and is set to completely expire today as the president campaigns in Ohio.
Being an election year, many people expected the tariff to be extended, but as of now it seems that it may not. If the tariff is not extended, China will be able to begin exporting countless cheap, poorly made, and dangerous steel-belted radials to the US. This would not only place American jobs at stake, but also lives, as these poor quality tires could lead to dangerous accidents caused by defective tire issues such as tread separation and faulty valve stems.
When this happens, consumers will find it incredibly difficult – if not entirely impossible – to take action against the companies responsible for any defects, as these Chinese corporations do not adhere to the same standards of consumer protection as Americans.
For further details about the impact of the expiring tariff and the import of Chinese tires, please visit the Newsome Blog.