Posted on 09/14/2009 10:58:21 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
HONG KONG — China unexpectedly increased pressure Sunday on the United States in a widening trade dispute, taking the first steps toward imposing tariffs on American exports of automotive products and chicken meat in retaliation for President Obama’s decision late Friday to levy tariffs on tires from China.
The Chinese government’s strong countermove followed a weekend of nationalistic vitriol against the United States on Chinese Web sites in response to the tire tariff. “The U.S. is shameless!” said one posting, while another called on the Chinese government to sell all of its huge holdings of Treasury bonds.
The impact of the dispute extends well beyond tires, chickens and cars. Both governments are facing domestic pressure to take a tougher stand against the other on economic issues. But the trade battle increases political tensions between the two nations even as they try to work together to revive the global economy and combat mutual security threats, like the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea.
Mr. Obama’s decision to impose a tariff of up to 35 percent on Chinese tires is a signal that he plans to deliver on his promise to labor unions that he would more strictly enforce trade laws, especially against China, which has become the world’s factory while the United States has lost millions of manufacturing jobs. The trade deficit with China was a record $268 billion in 2008.
China had initially issued a fairly formulaic criticism of the tire dispute Saturday. But rising nationalism in China is making it harder for Chinese officials to gloss over American criticism.
“All kinds of policymaking, not just trade policy, is increasingly reactive to Internet opinion,” said Victor Shih, a Northwestern University specialist in economic policy formulation.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Don’t (re)tread on me?
No problem. Obeyme will send Geithner to Beijing once again to grovel before their masters for forgiveness.
Geez, just when we all thought we’d get along. Rodney King is going to be diappointed.
How can BO just decide this and do it? Does it not have to pass thru congress?
If he's taxing tire imports, he's making it up to them on the backside somewhere.
Isn't he?
Much ado about nothing
Section 421 of the Trade Act of 1974
If I had time I'd google up (or perhaps compose) a little poem about little girls in fields of flowers and have the whole thing be about innocence....;)
Ping.
(I suspect he'll cave soon enough though)
Please expand on that empty comment...
So what? Do you want to pay 35% more for tires so that unions can have inflated wages, productivity stifling work rules, and political power?
The rats will create a disasterous trade war over this stunt. We have lots to lose if a trade war happens from inflation and lower dollar value as well as increasing union power. If the rats have a dispute, the WTO is the proper place to resolve the dispute.
I find it ironic that the Chinese are upset about these tariffs. Most Chinese people supported Obama and did not like Bush. The Chinese people can now see a real commie in action.
1) Initiate a full-scale trade war with China
OR
2) Back down and show China what a weakling he is.
He’ll do (2), and the MSM will report that he’s done (1).
” 2) Back down and show China what a weakling he is. “
Don’t worry - they already know....
ObaMao is just pandering to the Unions, who claim that over 7,000 Union jobs have been lost because we are buying cheaper tires from China.
Looks like we will have no other choice but to buy over priced American Union thug made crapolla again.
And now that we have really ticked off the Chicoms, watch them pawn off the bonds they hold and say no to any new loans.
To be honest, I think Obama is trying to engineer a total financial collapse. He probably thinks Smoot-Hawley is a vital component.
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