WASHINGTON (July 20, 2009)—A bipartisan group of 11 senators has written President Obama, urging him to approve the steep tariffs the U.S. International Trade Commission has recommended on passenger and light truck tires from China.
“An important American industry à is on its knees due to the market disruption caused by imports of Chinese tires,” the senators said in their July 16 letter. Only the three-year duties on Chinese tires recommended by the ITC—55 percent the first year, 45 percent the second and 35 percent the third—can prevent further harm to the U.S. tire industry, they said.
Five of the senators who signed the letter—Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), Arlen Specter (D-Pa.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Robert Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) and Evan Bayh (D-Ind.)—also testified before the ITC June 2 on behalf of the United Steelworkers union and its petition for relief against Chinese tire imports. Other signatories included Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Kay Hagan (D-N.C.).