As Cheaper Chinese Tires Roll In, Obama Faces an Early Trade Test

[DainBramaged]

At the vast Cooper Tire plant here, workers heard for years about their rivals in Chinese factories. In meetings, managers urged employees to run production lines faster and more efficiently to help the company keep up. Overseas laborers were toiling for as little as 20 cents an hour, they were told, and working harder.

Even more ominously, while browsing the aisles of Kmart and Wal-Mart, Cooper employees could see that, sure enough, the Chinese tires were cheapest.

"They would have these meetings and say we're up against the Chinese," said Larry Burkes, 29, who worked at the plant, which rises on the city's outskirts just beyond a mobile-home park. "We'd hear it all the time: 'They work for less.' There was pressure."

Now the plant that employed 2,100 people in this small south Georgia city is being shut down, and the troubles afflicting the U.S. tire industry are at the core of what many consider to be one of President Obama's first major decisions on trade policy.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/07/AR2009090702260.html?hpid=topnews

(registration required)

From 2004 to last year, the number of Chinese tires imported to the United States more than tripled, and their share of the U.S. market rose from 5 percent to 17 percent. Over the same period, the share of the U.S. market served by U.S. factories declined by a similar amount. More than 5,000 U.S. jobs were lost.



http://rubberandplastics.texterity.com/rubberandplastics/20090713?pg=9&pm=2&fs=1#pg9

[placton]

1. and didn't he promise us that

he would revist NAFTA?

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

2. I fail to see how NAFTA is relevant to this situation. n/t

[Craftsman]

5. Many of these formerly US plants are moving to Mexico.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

7. Chinese tires come from Mexico? n/t

[Craftsman]

8. If it were not so easy to move jobs to Mexico some would stay here

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

10. Huh?

How does making it easy to move jobs to Mexico increase importation of Chinese tires?

[Craftsman]

12. Many of these plants are moving to Mexico

So reopening NAFTA and making it more friendly to US labor would help to keep some jobs here.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

13. Why?

They could still move to China just as easily.

[Craftsman]

16. Example, Mexico has a 25% tariff on cars imported to them, but pay on tariff on cars to the US

If there was no tariffs on either side more cars made in the US would sell cheaper in Mexico, if the tariffs are on both sides it would be more economical ot keep the jobs in the US.

[DainBramaged]

19. A lot of folks here just don't get it when it comes to restrictive tariffs

placed on OUR goods by our 'friends'. All they know is what they read on DU every day, and usually only in their favorite forum.

[Name removed]

36. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[pampango]

33. No, Mexico phased out tariffs on cars imported from the US or Canada and eliminated them in 2004.

Mexico also has an FTA with the EU and doesn't have tariffs on imports from the EU either.

[Craftsman]

4. Yeah right

I will welcome it if I ever see it.

[Craftsman]

11. It would be a good fist step to protecting middle class jobs

Trade reciprocity with all countries would be better.

[joeycola]

20. and he said he would 'fix' FISA.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

3. I'm assuming you will now demand a bailout for the tire industry.

[DainBramaged]

6. Tire production graphic

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2009/09/08/GR2009090800232.html

[Winterblues]

9. WalMart shrugs and counts their money.."USA..USA..USA"

:shrug:

[L0oniX]

14. Gee ...what were those tires that were causing all the SUV roll over accidents?

Clue: It wasn't tires from China.

[DainBramaged]

32. Underinflated tires made by Firestone/Bridgestone

many many of the cases were due to terrible underinflation while traveling at high speeds over long distances, with Ford to blame not Firestone.

http://www.citizen.org/documents/rootcause.pdf

[Horse with no Name]

15. Look along the sides of the road

See all of those tires that have just peeled the tread off and blown out.
Cheap Chinese tires don't wear down--they peel off like retreads. Tires aren't SUPPOSED to do that. But many Americans accept that they are.
This happened to me last year.
I found out about a "silent recall" on tires.
Total BS.
When my tired peeled, there were no questions asked--they took the tire and replaced it without a receipt or any other verification that I had even purchased it there. I was in and out in less than 10 minutes.
Ban cheap Chinese tires.

http://i.abcnews.com/US/Story?id=95075&page=1
>>>snip
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. has been quietly offering free replacements for thousands of tires in a practice known as a “silent recall,” the Los Angeles Times reported today.

Goodyear acknowledged last month that tread separation involving its 16-inch Load Range E light-truck tires has been linked to 120 injuries and 15 deaths. Company officials have said a recall wasn’t necessary because it found no defects in the tires.

The Times, citing unidentified sources, said Goodyear has received more than 3,000 claims since 1995 about its light-truck tires. Most of those claims have been settled, with consumers receiving replacement tires and reimbursements for vehicle damage.

The company questioned that figure and said it was simply providing “customer satisfaction” replacements on a case-by-case basis.

[DainBramaged]

17. Chinese Tires Are Ordered Recalled

Federal officials have told a small New Jersey importer to recall 450,000 radial tires for pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and vans after the company disclosed that its Chinese manufacturer had stopped including a safety feature that prevented the tires from separating.

Tread separation is the same defect that led to the recall of millions of Firestone tires in 2000. At the time, tire failure was linked to an increased risk of rollover of light trucks and S.U.V.’s.

The company, Foreign Tire Sales of Union, N.J., had originally sought the federal government’s help with a recall, saying it did not have enough money to recall all the tires itself. Typically, importers are responsible for the cost of recalling defective foreign products.

But officials at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it remained the responsibility of Foreign Tire Sales to pay for the costs of the recall, said Heather Hopkins, a spokeswoman for the agency. She said the agency wanted “a full tire recall” by the company.

The defective tires join a growing list of problematic products with origins in China. A huge recall of potentially tainted pet food in March was followed by widespread reports of toothpaste manufactured with a toxic chemical and toys coated with lead paint.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/26/business/worldbusiness/26tire.html

[Craftsman]

21. My wife and MIL picked out a new kitchen table for her house

I being the son of a cabinet maker was asked to put it together. It cost $1200 with chairs. I took on look at the parts, all particle board and MDF and told my MIL to send it back it was not worth half of what she was charged.

[DainBramaged]

23. I own only antiques, acquired over the past 40 years, I would NEVER buy modern furniture

A neighbor whose computer I just fixed bought a new table for their TV and was going to throw out a beautiful maple table made in the 40's (dated and signed by the builder from a NC factory) because it needed to be refinished. It now resides in my hallway in all it's splendor.

[Craftsman]

26. I do some, I have several IKEA all Pine book cases

But I use wood glue and brads as well as the screws to put them together.

[dugaresa]

38. i bought an american made table (just the table for $1000)

It was solid wood, heavy as hell. First stained natural for the first 10 years of life. Gorgeous. The past 1 year it has resided in my formal dining room at my new house but got a sanding and a coat of dark stain so now it looks just as good but more formal.

[DainBramaged]

18. A defect on tires has links to China

Poisonous pet food. Lead paint on children's toys. The latest potentially defective Chinese import to hit American shores: tire-valve stems, the rubber shafts that allow motorists to fill their tires with air.

There are at least 36 million of the imported valve stems on tires on American roads. Any of them could cause dangerous tire failures this summer.

Already, a lawsuit has blamed a defective tire-valve stem for a crash that killed a Florida driver. One US importer issued a formal recall this month; another alerted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which has begun an investigation. Earlier this month, the federal agency issued an advisory to motorists to check their tires for wear but said nothing about valve stems.

Most of the valves in question, which are said to crack prematurely, appear to be on tires sold between September 2006 and June 2007.

The extent of the problem won't be known until NHTSA completes its investigation, says an agency spokesman. But some independent safety experts say motorists should be warned to inspect the tire-valve stems immediately.

"The company has issued a technical bulletin, but nobody seems to know about it," says Sean Kane, an auto-safety consultant with Safety Research & Strategies in Rehoboth, Mass., which issued its own public warning Thursday. "We need to know because the public is entering the high-risk summer season, and this is a real problem that potentially affects millions of vehicles."

http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0616/p02s01-usec.html

[fasttense]

22. We have no trade policy.

What we have are arbitrary trade agreements meant to destroy unions and allow corporate monopolies.

Just because workers overseas are cheaper doesn't mean the price of the product will come down when it is made outside the US. When Niki had children sewing together sneakers for cents a day in South America, their prices did NOT go down.

What the Chinese are doing is using a very old trade technique to destroy the competition. They cut their prices to unsustainable levels until the competition, in this case US tire manufacturers, can no longer compete and go out of business. People buy the cheap tires and get use to buying them from China. When all manufacturers in the US go bankrupt, they up their prices to sustainable levels because they now monopolize the market.

This is a common technique that most countries prevent by firm and specific trade agreements, taxes on imports, control of quantities allowed into a market and requirements for union based manufacturing in the home country. BUT NOT THE U.S. We have an anything goes mentality that allows for dumping and other gimmicks to kill off competition and creates monopolies.

Do you think the Chinese would allow us to undercut their rice farmers? Our agribusinesses can certainly grow rice a whole lot cheaper. But we can't sell it cheaper in China. They don't allow it.

We citizens of the US are nothing more than trade bait for foreign countries. Corporations like Wally World join with China to undercut American manufacturing and then they up the price.

Have you noticed that Wal-Mart is not selling fabric in bolts in their stores anymore? Here in a very rural area with a large population of Mennonites who sew their own clothes, Wal-Mart has stopped selling fabric. Sounds like a dumb business decision. But, and here is the catch, all the Jo Anne Fabrics and other fabric outlets have gone away. I know of only 2 stores in a 50 mile radius who still sell fabric and their prices are very high.

China and other countries have destroyed American Mills and Wal-Mart has wiped out (with the help of China) the retail markets. Now, we either pay for designer fabrics at twice the cost or buy the clothes pre-made.

And don't suggest buying fabric on the internets. Aside from the fact that most Mennonites don't have the internet here, to buy fabric without touching it, or feeling it is just plain stupid. You don't know how good the weave is until you feel it.

Anyway, China and Wal-Mart have killed off the American fabric industry and now you have no choice but to buy clothes pre-made that falls apart in a few months.

[DainBramaged]

25. fabric, furniture, auto parts, automobiles, machinery, heavy machinery

appliances, shall I keep going? all because of greed and complacent politicians.

[Pangolin2]

27. I'm no fan of Walmart but the ones hereabouts do still sell bulk fabric

so it apparently isn't a corporate policy. I don't know how autonomous their stores are on what to offer for sale but there evidently is some leeway (up to store managers?)

[madrchsod]

24. nothing will change....

the chinese/us government policies did the same to every manufacturing sector in this country. when the machines are sold for scrap our industry is never coming home.

[Romulox]

28. Why shouldn't we run Chinese tires on our Hyundais?

:shrug:

[DainBramaged]

29. Korean tires are REALLY good BTW (I only use Goodyears)

KUMHO TIRE
HANKOOK TIRE


http://www.rubberstation.com/Mm2(English).htm



World Tire Manufacturers and tires



1.GOODYEAR TIRE and RUBBER(USA), (Australia)
2.MICHELIN (France),(USA)
3.BRIDGESTONE-FIRESTONE(USA) (BRIDGESTONE),(BRIDGESTONE/FIRESTONE),(BRIDGESTONE-FIRESTONE EUROPE),　(FIRESTONE-New Zealand)
4.CONTINENTAL TIRES(USA),(Germany),(South Africa)
5.UNIROYAL TIRES (USA)
6.B.F.GOODRICH(USA),
7.DUNLOP(USA), (Germany) ,(SUMITOMO Rubber,Dunlop Japan)
8.PIRELLI,(Italy),(USA) ,(UK)
9.YOKOHAMA RUBBER(Japan)
10.TOYO TIRE(Japan)
11.GENERAL TIRE(USA)
12.COOPER TIRE(USA)
13.KUMHO TIRE(Korea)
14.HANKOOK TIRE(Korea)
15.OHTSU TIRE and RUBBER-FALKEN(Japan)
16.NITTO TIRE(Japan)
17.NOKIAN TYRES(Finland)
18.VREDESTEIN TYRES(Netherlands) (Greece)
19.CHENG SHIN RUBBER(Taiwan)
20.NANKANG RUBBER TIRE(Taiwan)
21.FEDERAL TIRES(Taiwan)
22.P.T.GADJAH TUNGGAL(Indonesia)
23.XUZHOU HAIPENG TYRES(China)
24.DENMAN TIRE (USA) Speciality tires
25.AIRBOSS(UK) Industrial tires
26.JK TYRE(India)
27.KELLY-SPRINGFIELD(USA)
28.HERCULES TIRE & RUBBER (USA)
29.MATADOR(Slovakia)
30.METZELER MOTORCYCLE TYRES(Germany,UK)
31.MRF TYRES(India)
32.TWIN TIRES(USA)Twin tires system
33.VIKING TYRES(UK)
34.SILVERSTONE(Malaysia)
35.MARANGONI(Italy)
36.BRISA, LASSA(Turkey)
37.ALLIANCE TIRE (Israel)
38.LION TYRES(Thailand)
39.KERMAN TIRE & RUBBER (Iran)
40.DONG AH TIRE(Korea)
41.CARLISLE TIRE&WHEEL (USA) Industrial tires
42.SUPERIOR TIRE & RUBBER (USA) Solid ,Urethane tires
43.DESSER TIRE & RUBBER (USA) Aircraft tires
44.HOOSIER RACING TIRE (USA)Racing tires, Tom Tatalovich Racing Service
45.COKER TIRE (USA) Tires for vintage cars,classic cars.Vintage tires
46.VINTAGE TYRE SUPPLIES (UK) Vintage tyres
47.DURO TIRE ( HWA FONG RUBBER) (Taiwan),(in chinese)
48.TITAN (USA) Agricultural/Earthmoving/Construction equipment & Military tires
49.GALAXY TIRE (USA) Agricultural,Industrial,Earthmoving,Special trailers and light trucks tires
50.VOGUE TYRE (USA) Custom build tires
51.T.Y.CUSHION TIRE (USA) Solid cushion tires
52.SIME DARBY, SIMEX TYRE, DMIB (Malaysia)
53.SIMEX TIRES (USA,Malaysia)
54.SHANG LINGLONG RUBBER(China)
55.NGAI SENG RUBBER IND. (Malaysia) Inner tubes and flaps
56.GUANGZHOU NO.1 RUBBER FACTORY (China) Bicycle,motorcycle tyres
57.JIANGSU FEICHI (China) Bicycle,motorcycle tyres
58.GUIZHOU TYRE (China)
59.DICK CEPEK (USA) Off-road tires
60.INOAC(Japan), INOUE RUBBER (THAILAND), (Thailand) Bicycle,motorcycle tires
61.CEAT TYRES(India)
62.MONARCH RUBBER (USA) Industrial tires
63.HWA FONG RUBBER (Taiwan)
64.CHENGSHAN RUBBER (China)
65.KENDA RUBBER (Taiwan)
66.TOFAN GRUP (Rumania)
67.NIZHNEKAMSKSHINA (Russan,CIS)
68.BELAUTOSHINA (Russan,CIS)
69.TIGAR RUBBER (Yugoslavia)
70.CHAOYANG,HANGZHOU ZHONGCE RUBBER (China)
71.OTANI TIRE(Thailand)
72.MITAS TYRE (Czech)
73.EUZKADI ,Cia Hulers Euzkasi SA (Mexico)
74.BIRLA TYRES (India)
75.TRIANGLE (CHINA)
76.TRELLEBORG (SWEDEN)
77.MODI RUBBER (INDIA)
78.BELSHINA (BELARUS,CIS)
79.BALKRISHNA TYRES, BKT(India)
80.TRIUMPH EXPOLINK INDIA(India)
81.OMSKTYRE(Russia)
82.CHAMPION TYRES(Thailand)
83.IRAN TIRE(Iran)
84.NEXENTIRE(Korea)
85GRL(Govind Rubber)(India)
86.CHINA MANUFACTURERS ALLIANCE(China)
87.APOLLO TYRES(India）
88.BELSHINA(Belarus)）
89.DEBICA(Poland）
90.DNEPROSHINA（Ukraine）
91.DEESTONE（Thailand）
92.FATE(Argentina）
93.JIANGSU　FEICHI（China）
94.KINGS　TIRE（Thailand）
95.PIROUZI TIRE(Iran）
96.PT　MEGA（Indonesia）
97.SIME　TYRES(Malaysia）
98.STIP（Poland）
99.SUMI RUBBER(Indonesia）
100.TIANJIN TYRE（China）
101.UNION RUBBER IND.(Taiwan）
102.VEE　RUBBER(Thailand）
103.VIKARANT（India）
104.BELTYRE(Belcina)
105.VOLTIRE(Russia)
106.YAROSLAVL TYRE(Russia)
107.KAMA　TIRES(Russia)
108.SHANGHAI TYRE & RUBBER(China)
109.HEBEI TYRE(China)
110.DOUBLE HAPPINES TYRE IND.(China)　
111.AEOLUSTYRE(China)
112.GUIZHOUTIRE(China)
113.LIAONING LONG MARCH TYRE(China)
114.GUANGZHOUPEARLRIVERRUBBER(China)
115.AMTEL , JSC SIBUR ,Russian tyres
116.GRANDTOUR TIRE(China)
117.COBRA TIRES(Thailand)

[Romulox]

30. Aren't you listening? I only roll tires made in US "right to work" states on my fleet of imports.

Solidarity? :wtf:

[DainBramaged]

31. LOL

A contradiction of sorts, but seriously, we see it every day, people want cheap tires, they don't want to buy quality tires. Our wholesaler offers Chinese tires, and EVERY time we install them, ESPECIALLY on SUV's where the 16 and 17" sizes are expensive, within weeks, the customer returns with an out of balance condition and the tires cannot be rebalanced to spec because (apparently) the cords separated, and we get instant exchanges by the distributor, but not any type of labor credit for mounting and re-balancing. Sure as shit in a diarrhea ward, they're back again a couple of weeks later, but this time they upgrade to better tires after wasting their and our time for HOURS.

I think as of September we are no longer offering them as an alternative to our customers.


This manufacturer's name makes me spit out my tea, DOUBLE HAPPINES TYRE IND.(China)　

[wuvuj]

42. I have good luck with a set of....

...Kumho tires...made in Korea. Recently someone I know as going to buy some Kumhos...but these were made in China.

[DainBramaged]

43. Consistantly highly rated on Tire Rack.......

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/reviews/brands.jsp?tireMake=Kumho

[flvegan]

34. Is there a list somewhere of which tires are made in China?

Quickly brushing through this thread it appears that some Cooper and maybe Goodyear are made there. I'm sure some of the "knock-off" brands are as well.

Ultimately, when I need to replace mine, I want to buy something made here by American hands (and preferably without some sort of atrocity in some other country to obtain materials for them).

[DainBramaged]

35. Reply #29 I posted it but the website is in Japanese (with translations)

http://www.rubberstation.com/

And another great site you might like


http://www.ai-online.com/

[Name removed]

37. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Edweird]

39. The hits just keep coming.

[Throd]

40. I couldn't put Chinese tires on the 442

It just seems wrong. The Saturn, maybe. However I never risk my safety to save a few bucks on cheaper parts.

[DainBramaged]

41. Coker reproductions for realism, radials for driving more than occasionally

http://www.cokertire.com/