We’ve played this game before. Obama placed tariffs on Chinese tires. Does that make him a protectionist?
No. It was a good thing though. Clearly the Chinese were dumping tires on the USA. I was sold tires that were Chinese made, Khoumo[SIC], I didn't know they were Chinese they told me it was Japanese, it is very hard to find USA built tires. Well on one of the tires the steel/fiber belt was about 2 inches to short. I noticed a bubble one day and the dealer took off the tire and showed me the manufacturing defect. He said IHO it was ready to explode at high speed. So Free Trade can kill. Not to say that another brand could have had the same defect but I've not heard of that problem. I mean the belt too short? The way they make tires is you put the belt on a machine which coats the tire in rubber compound. If the belt is too short it is painfully obvious that the belt should be thrown away. Zero quality control.