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Union urges Obama not cut poor tire deal with China

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-09-10 04:25

WASHINGTON: The United Steelworkers Union urged President Barack Obama on Wednesday not to settle their closely watched trade complaint against tire imports from China by negotiating a weak deal with Beijing.

If anything, Obama should insist in any talks on tougher trade restrictions than the US International Trade Commission (ITC) has already recommended in the case, Leo Gerard, president of the steelworkers union, told reporters.

"We're still in a pretty strong position on that if the government wanted to act," Gerard said.

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Obama must decide by September 17 whether to curb tire imports from China in response to a "Section 421" petition filed by the union in April.

That law, which China accepted as a term of its entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001, allows the United States and other WTO members to restrict imports from China in response to a surge that is harming or threatening to harm US industry.

US steelworkers complain China has lured US tire manufacturers there with the promise of cheap labor and made them promise to produce tires mainly for export.

The case is widely seen as a test of conflicting pressures on Obama to protect jobs in the United States and to promote free trade around the world.

One source familiar with the case said he has picked up signs in recent days that the United States and China are trying to negotiate a deal to resolve the matter.

Terry Stewart, an outside counsel for the union, said the Obama administration has not told them if they are trying to strike a deal with China.

"One would assume that they are even though the time period for negotiation is over under the statute. But the president has to make a decision in eight days," Stewart said.