WASHINGTON—Tire and auto service associations are focused intensely on 2017, especially the challenges presented by a new administration that is bound to bring sweeping changes, according to association representatives.
"Our members have expressed the desire for us to be well-prepared to work with the new administration," said Anne Forristall Luke, president and CEO of the Rubber Manufacturers Association. "We remain focused on our strategic points."
That doesn't mean that the RMA expected Donald Trump to win the presidency.
"We were surprised," Luke said. "Very few people were not surprised. But we are prepared."
For the Tire Industry Association, the election was mostly a pleasant surprise, according to Roy Littlefield III, TIA executive vice president.
"Our members are very excited by it," Littlefield said. "With our members' ongoing problems with Obamacare, the estate tax, minimum wage and overtime pay regulations, we might be able to do something now. Hopefully there will be less regulation."
All of these issues, as well as others, are vitally important to small business, according to Littlefield.
"We hope to capitalize on this window of opportunity," he said.