Check the Tires

John Stossell writes that the Obama Administration faces an early test of its trade policies in dealing with Chinese tire imports:

Harvard economist Greg Mankiw says that we should keep an eye on what the Obama Administration decides to do about Chinese tire imports because last week, the U.S. International Trade Commission advised the president to slap taxes on imports of low-cost Chinese tires. Supposedly, they’re harming American tire companies.

President Bush faced a similar test early in his first term with steel, and failed, imposing temporary but costly tariffs on imports in order to protect U.S. steelmakers from competition. The results were higher prices for American consumers, and slower economic growth as construction cost more than it should. American tire companies don't have the same political clout as the steel industry, but Senator Obama was more hostile to free trade than Governor Bush.