WASHINGTON (Oct. 29, 2009)-President Obama's decision to slap a 35-percent tariff on Chinese passenger and light truck tire imports was a mistake, according to a Chinese shipping magnate.
“This is not the sensible way to resolve the trade disputes,” said Wei Jiafu, CEO of the China Ocean Shipping Group, in an Oct. 26 speech at the National Press Club in Washington.
“China has no willingness to dump its tires into American markets,” said Wei in the English translation of his speech. Chinese tires attained a large share of the U.S. market strictly because of their stable quality and low price, he said, and protectionist measures will only hurt American consumers and tire-related sectors of the economy.
The bulk of Wei's speech concerned his role as the new chairman of the China Association of the Trading Services, an association formed in 2007 to represent the major service sectors of Chinese trade, including shipping and logistics, banking, insurance, information technology and services, accounting, consulting, publishing and the media.
CATIS hopes to work together with U.S. industry both to resolve trade disputes and to research issues of international competitiveness, Wei said.