Hardly surprised yet still disappointing
http://www.economist.com/opinion/displayStory.cfm
Obama does with tires what Bush did with steel. The Economist, who actually supported Obama's election, nails the issue on the head. Not only is this unsound and unfair trade policy, it is the height of hypocrisy. It goes against our national economic principles and against international agreements. Almost 100% of the time, protectionism, couched in the language of "protecting U.S. jobs" and against the "unfair" practices of other countries, is a politician pandering to a small elite (in this case, tire companies and unions) for their own benefit.
On every level it is the antithesis of fair. Americans will pay, foreigners will pay. The only ones who stand to benefit from this are 1) President Obama and 2) folks working in the U.S. tire industry.
Obama does with tires what Bush did with steel. The Economist, who actually supported Obama's election, nails the issue on the head. Not only is this unsound and unfair trade policy, it is the height of hypocrisy. It goes against our national economic principles and against international agreements. Almost 100% of the time, protectionism, couched in the language of "protecting U.S. jobs" and against the "unfair" practices of other countries, is a politician pandering to a small elite (in this case, tire companies and unions) for their own benefit.
On every level it is the antithesis of fair. Americans will pay, foreigners will pay. The only ones who stand to benefit from this are 1) President Obama and 2) folks working in the U.S. tire industry.