Obama has approved a 35% tariff on some imported Chinese tires for the next year. It'll fall to 30% in 2011 and to 25% in 2012. I think the tariff isn't a sop to unions either. It's the right move because China's neomercantilist policies are destroying manufacturing in the US. Until China allows for a level playing field, it's the administration's job to punish. However, I acknowledge that all nations do what China is doing. If the US believed in a level playing field, it wouldn't have bailed out GM, Chrysler, AIG, and whoever else. Or subsidize farming to the extent it does. If China pours cheap loans and favorable tax benefits on certain industries, it's the same thing and both are unfair. I won't be surprised when China adopts counter-measures. And they'll be justified in doing so.
Ugh. I don't want to see the stock market on Monday.
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