Bridgestone/Firestone protests Saudi ban

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Sept. 29)—Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. is protesting to the U.S. government a decision by Saudi Arabia to ban the importation of any vehicles bearing Firestone tires. The Saudi Arabian Standards Association issued the ban the week of Sept. 18, motivated by reports of fatal accidents associated with Firestone tires on Ford Motor Co. sport-utility vehicles and a 1999 program by Ford to replace Firestone tires on 6,800 Ford Explorers and Mercury Mountaineers in Saudi Arabia. In a prepared statement, Bridgestone/Firestone said it had notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the matter, and also the United States Trade Representative "to express our concerns...that such a broad ban could not possibly be justifed under the rules of the World Trade Organization, which Saudi Arabia is negotiating to join."