Sometimes Trade Policies Work-- But Only When Regulations Are Enforced, Which Is Very Rare Indeed

Obama's corporatist trade policies are barely distinguishable from the cruel and failed trade policies rammed down America's throat by Reagan, the two Bush catastrophes, and Clinton. Perot had the giant sucking sound talking point exactly right. So it's with a great deal of pleasure I can announce that Obama-- who is currently pushing the NAFTA-like trade agreements Bush made with South Korea, Panama and Colombia (all absolutely against the interests of workers)-- actually did something right on trade for a change.

True, it was way back in 2009, but it's paying off for America now in a big way. Back then the new Administration "imposed duties on surging imports of subsidized tires from China. The three-year plan was designed to provide relief for U.S. tire manufacturers under Section 421 of U.S. trade law, the first time the law had been used since its inception."

Only one year after the import duties were applied, a study by the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) found that the U.S. tire industry had already reversed a significant decline. Sales were up, and workers were being hired.

The latest demonstration of the effectiveness of the 421 ruling is that Continental AG plans to build a new consumer tire manufacturing plant in the United States. The company says the planned plant will help cover rising tire demand in North America: "These plans are further proof for the depth of the turnaround that the Passenger and Light Truck Tires Division has achieved in the Americas region by means of determination and perseverance."

I guess that helps explain why China spent so much money financing right-wing PACs trying to elect Republicans supportive of China's economic expansion, particularly Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) and why they contributed so heavily to making sure John Boehner would replace Nancy Pelosi as Speaker.