The Tire Industry Association (TIA) says it is "deeply disappointed" with President Obama's decision to levy punitive tariffs on certain passenger and light truck tire imports from China.
"TIA believes this was a politically motivated decision that will end up costing more jobs than it saves," says TIA Executive Vice President Roy Littlefield.
"These tariffs will not bring back the jobs that the union claims have been lost. It will not create any new tire maufacturing jobs and it will most likely result in the loss of thousands of retail tire industry jobs here in the U.S., affecting everyone from the shop that services your tire to tire wholesalers.
"The tire manufacturers made the decision years ago to shift production of these lower-cost tires out of the U.S.," Littlefield continues. "All this action will do is force tire manufacturers to shift production of these lower-cost tires to other countries, such as Brazil and India.
"The bottom line here is that despite what the union and the President believe, these jobs are not coming back, and now we can expect more job losses here in our already-struggling economy."
TIA believes tariffs will "price" low-cost tires "out of reach for many customers and will lead to a tightening in the remaining supply of lower-cost tires. Also, given that lower-cost tires imported from China help those most vulnerable in this current economy... we are deeply concerned that many consumers may delay or even defer replacing their tires when necessary, thus creating a potential safety hazard on America's roads."
