This is a political move by Obama, to help his standing with the rust belt.
It is not protectionism, because China is but one country. If we want cheap tires we can get them from South Korea. True protectionism would require tariffs on all foreign tires, including those European Michelins.
Smoot-Hawley was across the board and everywhere.
Trouble is, they are even more expensive than American made tires. And they would probably win an international court challenge on who subsidizes the industry more as well.
What the average American consumer doesn’t realize is that it is they who are getting screwed by all the protectionist policies that still exist, as well as all the subsidies that the government is providing for American producers.
We pay for all of it in the end. The real evil at work here is big government. We pay for it all, when we should be enjoying cheap products and a much lower cost of living for just about everything you can imagine. It is government and organized labor that is driving business out of this country, not cheap imports which- “on a level playing field” - could never compete with a modern automated American manufacturer.