USW Seeks Relief from Flood of Imported Chinese Tires

[Omaha Steve]

http://sev.prnewswire.com/mining-metals/20090420/DC0152420042009-1.html

Trade case calls for investigation, quota order to stop industry job losses

WASHINGTON, April 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The United Steelworkers (USW) today announced the filing of 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.

Leo W. Gerard, USW international president, declared: "American workers are struggling to make it through the worst economic crisis in 80 years. Our tire industry is collapsing under the weight of 46 million Chinese tires entering our shrinking market annually."

He said, "We are aggressively using America's trade remedy laws to help workers and their employers combat an import surge from a country not playing by the rules. Section 421 is a tool to redress Chinese import surges that gets us through the current economic crisis and preserves a part of America's industrial base."

The petition filed by the USW on behalf of its members employed in the U.S. tire industry was made under Section 421 of the Trade Act of 1974. Documents submitted in the case show a huge surge of passenger car and light truck tire imports from China during 2004-08.

The USW represents about 15,000 tire workers employed at 13 plants in nine states, which accounts for nearly half of the industry's production capacity in 2008. The domestic tire industry consists of ten producers with 27 plants in 15 states.

The consumer tire-producing states include: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

FULL story at link.