TIA said it is “deeply disappointed” in the Obama Administration’s decision to place added tariffs on imported China-made passenger tires.
The association, which made no prior public statements regarding the situation, issued a statement yesterday calling the decision “politically motivated.”
TIA also pointed to a study by economics professor Thomas Prusa of Rutgers University that said a “punitive tariff on Chinese tires would lead to a loss of at least 25,000 U.S. jobs" among tire distributors and retail tire techs.
"TIA believes this was a politically motivated decision that will end up costing more jobs than it saves,” said 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 manufacturing 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 the tire wholesalers – many of whom are small businesspeople struggling to stay afloat in this economy. This, all during a time when we can ill afford to be losing more U.S. jobs.
"The tire manufacturers made the decision years ago to shift production of these lower-cost tires out of the U.S.,” he continued. “All this action will do is force the 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 believes, these jobs are not coming back, and now we can expect more job losses here in our already struggling economy."
TIA also said the “tariff will price these tires out of reach of many consumers, and will lead to a tightening in the remaining supply of lower-cost tires. Also, given that the lower-cost tires imported from China help those most vulnerable in this current economy – working-class citizens – 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.”
The Rubber Manufacturers Association has yet to weigh in on the tariff situation.
