WTO backs US in tire dispute with China

The WTO has rejected Beijing’s complaint about US tariffs on Chinese tire imports, saying the Obama administration "did not fail to comply with its obligations," Bloomberg reported. President Barack Obama in September 2009 imposed three-year duties on US$1.8 billion of Chinese-made tires in what was described as a move to protect US jobs. The tariffs are calculated as a percentage of the tires’ value, with a levy of 35% in the first year, 30% in the second and 25% in the third, plus a 4% duty on all passenger-vehicle and light-truck tires imported into the US. The president was responding to a complaint by the United Steelworkers union, which called for an annual import cap of 21 million tires. It said that Chinese tire exports to the US had tripled from 2001 to 2004, reaching 41 million units. US Trade Representative Ron Kirk said the WTO decision is "a major victory for the United States and particularly for American workers and businesses."