USW blasts alleged attempts by China to influence ITC investigation into tire imports

Objecting to alleged attempts by the Chinese government to “unduly influence members of the International Trade Commission,” the United Steelworkers (USW) are denouncing China’s actions during a meeting regarding a recently filed USW petition calling for the ITC to reduce the amount of Chinese tires being imported into the United States.

“It’s inappropriate under our trade laws that the Chinese government would argue the merits of their case in what was supposed to be a general information meeting,” says USW International President Leo W. Gerard. “They are not new to this process – this misconduct was totally improper and we commend the ITC for recognizing it.”

In April the USW filed a major trade case “against the flood of imported consumer tires from China that have led to thousands of job losses and a growing number of plant closings throughout the U. S.,” he says. The USW claims that the domestic tire industry is collapsing under the weight of 46 million Chinese tires entering a market that continues to shrink each year.

The ITC’s Section 421 is a tool that uses trade remedy laws “to help workers and their employers combat an import surge from China when it does not play by the rules, thereby preserving a part of our domestic industrial base.”

The ITC noted that it’s inappropriate for representatives of the Chinese government to “discuss the facts of the cases before the commission, and that ex parte contact with interested parties needed to be recorded and made part of the administrative record.”

According to the USW, imports of consumer tires from China increased from 2004 to 2008 by 215 percent in volume and 295 percent by value. Citing China’s share of total imports of consumer tires, the petition reports that imports have nearly tripled by volume during the surge period, while domestic production of consumer tires has declined by more than 25 percent.

Section 421 of U.S. trade law was passed by Congress in 2000 to enable companies, groups of workers and other parties to seek relief when rapid increases in imports of products cause or threaten “market disruption” to a domestic industry.