Posted on 06/12/2013 4:27:51 PM PDT by jjotto
Cooper tires is becoming another victim of President Obama’s much too cozy relationship with the union machine. Cooper Tires was bought by an Indian company.
After President Obama sent a thank you to the Steelworkers Union and slapped an absolutely brain-dead punitive tariff of tires coming from China, a few things happened:
Imports of low-cost tires did not stop. They came from other countries, at tariffs even lower than the old ones on Chinese tires. Not a single new job was created in America, but more than a few jobs at tire importers were destroyed. Americans paid more for tires. A trade war erupted. Retaliatory tariffs did hurt exports of big displacement cars made by Chrysler, Ford and General Motors. American companies that had tire production in China were hurt, most of all Cooper tires.
Today, “Indian tire manufacturer Apollo Tyres Ltd said it would buy Cooper Tire & Rubber Co for about $2.5 billion,” Reuters writes.
Currently, Apollo does not operate in the United States. “The acquisition of Cooper, the world’s 11th biggest tire company by sales, will give Apollo access to the U.S. market for replacement tires for cars and light and medium trucks,” Reuters writes.
Cheap Chinese tires are being replaced by cheap Indian tires. And another American company is being outsourced.
Dang it!! I’ve been running on Cooper tires for years. They better not screw them up!
Thanks for the ping. The list of U.S. owned companies is getting shorter.
Loot and pillage: To the victor go the spoils.
Correct and probably one of the things most overlooked when it comes to Big Government. There is no cost to destroying a company here or there. It’s impossible to see the jobs not created, but to the all-consuming goverment bureaucracy it’s even costless when jobs disappear. I mean who’s paying attention anymore?
Intentionally designed to look like a lemon?
That should be “feather” indians.
Firestone was bought-out by Bridgestone of Japan. (Already a high-quality tire in its own right).
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