Clark upset with President Obama's tariff on Chinese tires on clarkhoward.com

President Obama's tariff on imported Chinese tires has really upset Clark. To begin, it is expected to raise the price by 30 percent. But more importantly, he believes it treads on dangerous ground in a free market economy.

"Buy American" may be a populist sentiment, but interference in the free market ultimately leads to higher prices. Not to mention real trouble as China will likely retaliate and puts tariffs on the few goods we import to them.

Tariffs on Brazilian sugar, for example, are already compromising our national security. In 2008, Congress charged a 54-cent/gallon tariff for Brazilian-made sugar energy that could be used to power flex-fuel cars here in America. That stifling effect just creates more need for foreign oil. Meanwhile, OPEC doesn't face any tariff whatsoever!

All consumers benefit when you allow free market and free trade. This is a dangerous path that Obama is traveling down with the Chinese tire tariff.

If you have tires that are wearing thin, it would be a good idea to replace them now before the cost increase from the tariff goes into effect. Just remember, you can't stockpile tires for more than a year because they will degrade.

Finally, when Clark was discussing this issue in a show meeting, executive producer Christa immediately said that she thought there was a safety issue with Chinese tires. But the consumer champ disputes that. While other products from communist China have had safety issues, tires are not one of them.

What others are saying

Chinese Tires
I am in the tire business. The most Chinese tires out there are industrial, farm and trailer tires. About the only big manufacture who has China built tires is Cooper, so they are taking a big increase. Most passenger tires are made in the US, Brazil or Japan.
By Tim @ 09/24/09 03:03:22 PMreport abuse
Stocking up on tires?
Some folks realize [tarrif or not] stocking up on tires is probably not a good thing. Tires have a shelf life and a date on the side wall..... If I am to remember from Consumer Reports. not a good idea to purchase or allow a trie with a date more than 3 years old.... One thing to save money... and another thing to put 4 tires in your garage for 3 or so years and could be 6 years old before you put them on your car. Food for thought.
By Ken 40 @ 09/23/09 08:49:05 PMreport abuse
Clark Bashers are union propagandists
Lets see how they live without cheap chinese goods-at least 60% of everything they buy(except food) comes from chinese factories.
Revalueing the remnimbi will raise inflation here=LOWER standard of living
By LOUIS @ 09/23/09 09:37:39 AMreport abuse
tires
Chinese tires are fine i been driving on them from 1997 to today about 100.00 a set of cheaper they are all going to wear out so its the consumers choice.
By car legend @ 09/23/09 02:04:34 AMreport abuse
Chinese Tires
After all this talk about tire, would someone please list the names of the tires? or companies. Never have seen a list. I try to buy American, and luckly my tires have always been good.
By Cass @ 09/22/09 08:34:53 PMreport abuse
Tariff
Obama are responding to the clamoring of Unions, he don't really give a crap about quality.
By Richard Rivera @ 09/22/09 05:22:58 PMreport abuse
China
We as Americans need to buy AMERICAN. Yes it is convenient to pick up that THINGY and be on your way, but you are sending your money to China.

Shame on you Walmart ( CHINA-MART).
By Mike Eastman @ 09/22/09 03:47:24 PMreport abuse
Chinese Tires
I think Clark's kids should all suck on cheap Chinese toys made with lead paint, while riding down the interstate on cheap Chinese tires that don't meet highway safety standards. Then when they're all in the hospital he can complain about the poor quality of his free health care! YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. My wife and kids ride on Yokohama tires.
By Tim @ 09/22/09 12:33:00 PMreport abuse
Chinese tires
No Chinese tires for me. They are not up to US standards. Think about that the next time you are toolin doen the highway at 70 or 75 with your wife and kids.
By Steve @ 09/22/09 10:28:49 AMreport abuse
Chinese Tires
I have had first hand experience with Chinese tires--they are pure crap--don't trust a Chinese tire on anything you own.
By Skip Kinsey @ 09/22/09 09:23:08 AMreport abuse
Chinese tires
Clark you are dead wrong. Tires can be made economically in this country and we cannot afford the trade imbalance. Most countries won't even buy shoddy chinese goods - just travel to South America to see this.
By Brett Sorge @ 09/22/09 08:30:28 AMreport abuse
Chinese tires
I would not buy Chinese tires in the first place. Look at the crap they have been sending over here the last few years.
By Raymond Fulton @ 09/22/09 12:28:30 AMreport abuse
Smoot Hawley
Two congressman from Ohio Messrs., Smoot and Hawley introduced a bill in congress to "help" the american economy during the depression. It was voted into law and which prohibited imports into the US. The law they surmise would force people to buy our goods. Their meddling prolonged the depress by at least five years, because the other countries put up similar restriction on imports. Those who do not heed historic lessons are doomed to repeat them.
By Mike M. @ 09/22/09 12:09:53 AMreport abuse
Michelin is French
Brad,
Michelin is a French company. Does the tariff apply to them?
By Greg @ 09/21/09 10:01:47 PMreport abuse
Tires
I am a master certified automotive technician, and fully believe that if one is driving on cheap tires, they are taking their lives into their own hands. It is not worth the safety compromise, be they domestic garbage or (tariff) imported garbage. In actuality, the brakes do not stop the car in an emergency braking situation- the 1 inch of tire that is in contact with the road ,at the point of braking, does. Unsolicited, but based on my experience, Michelin is the only tire worth buying- they are actually perfectly round from the factory, and I have never had a vibration complaint after properly installing them (but nothing of quality is cheap!). And DO flush your brake fluid every 2 years- just trying to keep you guys alive out there.
By Brad Vaughan @ 09/21/09 08:33:06 PMreport abuse
Free Market
Clark you are wrong on this one. Free markets should be competition from within the country. China will always be cheaper, not to mention quality issues. Soon there will be no American with a job to buy goods from ANY country.
By Steve Bukosky @ 09/21/09 03:20:09 PMreport abuse
free market
No such thing as a free market !! Only international corporations benefit by this false idea. What we need is a fair market to keep American jobs...
By David Vallely @ 09/21/09 02:56:48 PMreport abuse
Tires
I bought a new Toyota Rav4 one year ago. At 15,000 miles I got a blowout of an original equipment tire and was told by the excellent Discount Tire store that those tires were all in need of replacement and had been made for only about 15,000 miles, in other words, garbage. You can't BUY that tire on the market - it is garbage only for new cars. What a ripoff.
By Karen Allison @ 09/21/09 02:24:08 PMreport abuse
Chinese Tires
If the Chinese people are willing to put POISON in infant formula, what do you expect? There are no laws protecting consumers. If you buy chinese tires and they have defects, your only recourse the place you bought them from. Seriously, there's no consumer help for Chinese goods. The only car I'll put cheap chinese tires on is the one car I give to my mother in law to drive!
By Thadamere @ 09/21/09 01:45:00 PMreport abuse
Tires/free trade
Clark,
Free Trade and Fair Trade are different subjects. China has no epa/osha, and other govt controls that USA makers have to contend with. Free trade means the USA workers are getting the short end of the stick
By rob f` @ 09/21/09 01:35:39 PMreport abuse
TRADE
...folks, you cannot stop globalization..even whe you die, it will continue, it is permanent.......dry rot from ageing tires is a far worse dangerous death hazard than paying more for them....
By CONSUMER WARRIOR @ 09/21/09 01:13:57 PMreport abuse
Boycott China
Yeah Clark, you can see what a great audience you got!I believe that you should start pushing more for education in this country in addition of being the counsumers "guru"!The heck with the chineze bring all the jobs back home I will work for $3 an hour we need jobs in this country!Raise import taxes 100% for everybody not only China because that may smell "discrimination." Wake up fellows, see the truth! Buy only American even if you have to use your,unfortunatelly maxed out credit cards! Give these foreigners a lesson-buy only american, of course only if you find it! Good luck!
By Mario @ 09/19/09 08:30:21 PMreport abuse
Your Job in China
If you had to travel to China everyday to work then a global economy would work well. Lets see how long you would last broadcasting from China if those were the only jobs in your field! Im not saying that we shouldnt buy a dollars worth of goods from other countries but I would appreciate it if they would buy a dollars worth of my wheat that I raise!! Lets quit worrying about the consumer and how about the producer. Where do you think money comes from anyway from the bank? No, it comes from natural resourses from the good earth. Think about your answer about this global situation and realize that we need to protect the manufacturing and resourses in the USA.
By Jerry @ 09/19/09 08:00:29 PMreport abuse
Fair trade is the answer, not Free Trade
Clark, I love you but you suffer from what most Americans suffer. You cannot seem to be able to look beyond your nose. Communist Govt leaders are on a sucessful campaign to remove our industrial base. Our leaders and most USA residents are unable to look beyond the next quarters earnings to see this truth. Look beyond, expand your thought process and see this for what it is, a trade war 9we are losing, later to be followed by a real war, which we will lose that too, as we will be unable to sustain our capacity to defend ourselves and our allies. For goodness sake wake up Clark and America!!
By AnotherATSS @ 09/19/09 10:04:01 AMreport abuse
Tarrifs
A 20 percent tariff on all China made goods immediately would be great rising by 5 percent each year for each year China refuses to revalue their currency.
Don't stop with ties.
By TD @ 09/19/09 12:32:49 AMreport abuse
CHINESE TIRES
I don't care if Chinese tires are FREE I would not have them on my car. Also Clark is wrong there have been some safety issues with Chinese tires. Just do an internet search for recalled Chinese tires and you will have many sources to look at - I would be ashamed to help fund a communist country and the RED ARMY. The lack of environmental laws and the fact many factory workers are children Clark should also be ashamed. I agree with free trade - but there should also be fair trade. The cheap imports that were once made by American workers have cost millions and millions of US jobs. This country is now paying dearly for our addiction to these cheap imports. The quality of almost anything I have purchased made in China is terrible. I have a toy train(USA) that still works that I recieved for Christmas over 30 years ago. Many toys(Chinese) my kids get for Christmas now are lucky to last 30 days. I remember when Walmart used to advertise how many US jobs they created by having so many products in their stores made in the USA. I can only imagine how many millions of jobs they have since cost this country by importing almost all of their junk from China. CLARK - do some investigating and see how much that cheap shirt you wear really cost and if you are helping to fund a Communist military with your purchases that have no thought behind them except what comes out of your million $ wallet. I have tools that someone gave me made in China and the tip of the screwdriver bent trying to loosen a screw - I used my Craftsman screwdriver with a lifetime warranty and had no trouble. Clark - millions of jobs and trillions of dollars have been lost when you really take the true impact of unfair trade practices into account. I imagine some of the Habitat homes you have helped to build are occupied by people who once had a decent paying factory job with benefits. I hope you read my comments and really think about the true impact of what we purchase as Americans. With the shape our country is currently in - I think it is more important than ever to try to purchase products made in the USA.
By MAB @ 09/17/09 01:33:39 AMreport abuse
Tarifs
I have to agree with Clark!Raising import taxes doesn't do any good to the consumer! On the contrary it hurts everyone else minus the politicians and ,of course the big business.It seems that the president hired the wrong people to advise him on quite a few matters!On the other hand some of the comments suggest to buy american made products!Only if you can afford it and it is not because of the unions and their corrupt bosses who fight for decent wages but because most people in this country live from paycheck to paycheck on borrowed money and can hardly afford to pay american labor wages for imported products!We as a nation save less than almost anybody in the world and carry the most debt!The borrower is servant to the lender and that's probably the main reason we have to import most of our goods from other countries!
By Mario @ 09/16/09 09:44:48 PMreport abuse
Tariff
Relax. It's all theater and somewhat ripe. Obama needs union support for the health bill. Union gets the tariff. Meanwhile the Chinese recognize the wink and go to the WTO to have the tariff negated. Still dunno what we paid our friends in Beijing for the aggravation.
By Edgardo Campoamor Jr. @ 09/16/09 05:30:14 PMreport abuse
Chinese Tire Tarrifs
Unfortunately, we've seen too well the difference between free trade and fair trade.

Bush's elimination of quotas with China and expansion of free trade with the country was not only devastating to our economy, but also to our Latin American neighbors (and further enflamed the illegal immigration problems).

It's time for fair trade with China, not free trade.
By Jay Moyes @ 09/16/09 05:11:34 PMreport abuse
tires
We have enough tire choices in America. we need to buy American produced products to keep jobs here (even if they cost more than Chinese products). The new American business model seems to be: outsource any part or product that you need to foriegn countries that can make it a few dollars cheaper. (whether through low labor costs, inferior quality control, or lower material cost) We have become a society of consumers who just want the cheapest products and our companies want the biggest profit margins they can get. No wonder we owe trade debts to China and others.
We used to be a world known quality producer of superior goods (cars, technology, entertainment, and consumer goods) thats what made the baby boomers rich.
Then we got greedy and lazy and started sacrificing quality and American jobs for higher profits and less work. American craftsmanship has been traded for lower quality, foriegn made, products that we accept because they are a few bucks cheaper.
The construction industry has become a bunch of greedy white middlemen making money off of semi-skilled, immigrant workers (legal and mostly not), putting out inferior work..proving the phrase "they don't build them like they used to."
We need to become a nation of producers again instead of aging lazy boomers and young debt bearing consumers...stop buying cheap Chinese products it's disgusting enough that the Arabs and Chinese are buying up chunks of America... we don't need to help than any by having a huge trade defecit with them too. Go buy some American tires, they might be a bit more expensive but they are probably higher quality and will last longer, saving you money in the end....and unless the American companies tires are produced in Mexico, you will be supporting an American worker, not some chinese guy making $4 a day.
By Dave @ 09/16/09 03:37:20 PMreport abuse
Sugar thieves
The American sugar cane industry is one industry that should never exist because the world price of sugar is way below what it takes to grow the stuff. Congress is has been giving welfare to these folks for years.
By jimmy @ 09/16/09 02:46:19 PMreport abuse
Curb free market and you & I suffer
I'm no economist but tariff on Chinese tires can have a spiraling effect on our lives, considering that 16% of American tire consumer-market uses them. Most of the goods criss-cross the country by road. Cost of this transportation is an essential element in the price you and I pay for our groceries, clothes, machines and what have you...

Once the price for Chinese tires goes up, transporters will either have to increase what they charge their consumers (and ultimately us) or they will have to buy tires from other existing sellers. In the latter case, increased demand for existing tires can also raise the price for other non-Chinese tires which will also increase cost of transportation! So, we are had either way...

Hey, going by how the government manages the budget, perhaps they should sell additional debt to Chinese to cover the tariff...LOL
By SK @ 09/16/09 02:24:33 PMreport abuse
Chinese Brand
Ivan, your tires could be just out of round,no rebalance will help that. Believe it or not, some tires are not completely round
By Guy @ 09/16/09 02:20:11 PMreport abuse
Tariffs won't work anyway
Instead of buying them from China, we'd just buy them from South America or Africa. You know, thos other places where rubber trees grow? For whatever reason, we just don't have a lot of natural rubber (which has many desirable qualities over synthetics) in the US. I'm not sure why, though.

The only think tariffs would do is upset China and please union bosses who erroneously think this will help them.
By Medical Student @ 09/16/09 11:08:28 AMreport abuse
Who can pay all these taxes
"Chinese items, the quality is very poor"

General comments like this are just stupid. A lot of well known U.S. brands are made outside this country. Just because they are made in China does not mean they are low quality.

But beyond this, how the heck are the middle class going to pay for all of these stupid taxes???? We keep getting hit by this administration from all sides. Every day this stupid administration has to try and tax us more and do it right now to save our butt. Give me a break!
By antiamerican by foot @ 09/16/09 10:54:34 AMreport abuse
Not so sure
Not so sure this is such a bad thing when you have the chinese manipulating there own currency to serve there own interests. They play unfair to protect their own interests and why should America not to do the same? Point out one country or individual who does not protect their own interests.
By chad @ 09/16/09 10:43:36 AMreport abuse
Bankrupcy of America
What will happen if the Chinese stopped buying our debt? Obama must have forgotten that the borrower is servant to the lender. If he wants to continue his massive borrowing and spending mega-projects, he better start kissing the Chinese's you-know-what, and not upset them with unreasonable tariffs.
By z @ 09/16/09 10:39:09 AMreport abuse
Chinese brand
My experience with one such brand is "Prime Well". It's been cheap a year ago (more expensive now).
Huge mistake to go with them! My MPG dropped like a rock, the tires shake dispite multiple attempts
to rebalance them and realign the wheels. It is not a good idea to put them on your can at all.
I now regret that I was cheap and didn't have Yokohama installed instead.
By Ivan @ 09/16/09 09:06:33 AMreport abuse
Increased prices on tires are the not exactly what the recession strapped consumer needs .

There will be more loss of life and $ due to accidents from people drive on bald and "used" tires .
By Pete @ 09/16/09 06:57:56 AMreport abuse
A Free Market within the US
Unlike sugar, is there any reason why tires can't all be made in the US? Who is to say that competition between tire manufacturers within the US couldn't lower our prices? Why do we need China? I've not yet found one Chinese product that was well-made and long-lasting. I'll pay 30% if I know the tires are well-made.
By Laura @ 09/16/09 12:11:33 AMreport abuse
Korean tires
I buy Korean tires. I have never found chinese tires.
By anonymous @ 09/15/09 10:51:15 PMreport abuse
Clark is Steaming
Bailouts, Takeovers, Tarp, Obamacare? And you are mad about tires? WTF?
By Barry Coe @ 09/15/09 10:25:27 PMreport abuse
chinese products
Chinese items that i get at Walmart most of the time the quality is very poor, no matter how cheap they are
By By Joe @ 09/15/09 10:03:12 PMreport abuse
chinese products
Chinese items that i get at Walmart most of the time the quality is very poor, no matter how cheap they are
By By Joe @ 09/15/09 10:02:01 PMreport abuse
Clark Upset with President Obama
Mr. Clark Howard, I beg to disagree with you here. There is no level playing field with China. I travel to China very often. I really love the place and the people there but China is not playing by the rules.
China has successfully created her Economic System in the Global Economy. For example the cost of living in China is very very low not the standard of living.
Try to buy the American product in China, you will pay at least 100%. $5.00 in China goes a long way but not here in the USA. This is the reason why it makes more sense to manufacture in China than US.
By Amos @ 09/15/09 09:47:50 PMreport abuse
recalls
I remember about a year or two ago there were several chinese tires that had recalls due to unsafe construction. They were limited to only a couple brands, though. Also, many tires for motorcycles, ATVs, and large trucks are made in china.
By R.L.Evans @ 09/15/09 08:48:10 PMreport abuse
tires
in this economy, how many people will drive longer on tires that are going bald because of the cost. talk about a safety issue.
By terri @ 09/15/09 07:13:40 PMreport abuse
More socialist tactics at work here...
Typical Obama; let's interfere with our wonderful free-market economy a bit more and PO our allies in the process. Why, you ask? To increase taxes of course. Chinese pay Obama off to sell tires here. Retailers increase prices to cover the payoff. End consumers end up paying more taxes - simple! Just another back-door method of squeezing more tax money out of a nation of tax-weary citizenry.

So much for Chairman Obama, the Great American Hero! PPPPPFFFFFffffttttt!!!
By Another Old Guy @ 09/15/09 07:05:20 PMreport abuse
Chinese Tire Tariff
Tariffs are not the way to deal with a safety issue. More expensive unsafe tires are still unsafe. Tariffs just make international relations difficult and raise prices.
By Gerald Robinson @ 09/15/09 05:41:10 PMreport abuse
Tariff on Chinese tires
I can only assume that it will apply to tires sold at discount stores such as Sam's Club, Walmart and Costco etc....stores that many Americans, such as our family, regularly use to save money.
By Magical Mischief Maker @ 09/15/09 04:34:22 PMreport abuse
Stockpile tires
Clark is flat out wrong about not stockpiling tires because they will degrade.
Tires will last indefinitely if stored out of direct sunlight, away from ozone producing electrical appliances, and not allowed to come in contact with hydrocarbons (petroleum based products).
The problem is not knowing how the tires have been stored before you bought them. Dating of tires makes sense in this case so you know they are fresh. Then stockpile away in the proper manner and pull one out ten or 20 years from now and it will be in as good a condition as when you began to store them.
By Jeff P. @ 09/15/09 03:57:44 PMreport abuse
China Tariffs
This is anti-free market and a payoff to union boses who funded Obama's election
By Jacob @ 09/15/09 03:49:09 PMreport abuse
Tires
I know with large equipment tires the Chinese were recently found guilty of dumping, selling the tires lower than their cost to produce them. Could it be the same here?
By John @ 09/15/09 03:46:59 PMreport abuse

Chinese Tires

I am in the tire business. The most Chinese tires out there are industrial, farm and trailer tires. About the only big manufacture who has China built tires is Cooper, so they are taking a big increase. Most passenger tires are made in the US, Brazil or Japan.

By Tim @ 09/24/09 03:03:22 PMreport abuse

Stocking up on tires?

Some folks realize [tarrif or not] stocking up on tires is probably not a good thing. Tires have a shelf life and a date on the side wall..... If I am to remember from Consumer Reports. not a good idea to purchase or allow a trie with a date more than 3 years old.... One thing to save money... and another thing to put 4 tires in your garage for 3 or so years and could be 6 years old before you put them on your car. Food for thought.

By Ken 40 @ 09/23/09 08:49:05 PMreport abuse

Clark Bashers are union propagandists

Lets see how they live without cheap chinese goods-at least 60% of everything they buy(except food) comes from chinese factories.
Revalueing the remnimbi will raise inflation here=LOWER standard of living

By LOUIS @ 09/23/09 09:37:39 AMreport abuse

tires

Chinese tires are fine i been driving on them from 1997 to today about 100.00 a set of cheaper they are all going to wear out so its the consumers choice.

By car legend @ 09/23/09 02:04:34 AMreport abuse

After all this talk about tire, would someone please list the names of the tires? or companies. Never have seen a list. I try to buy American, and luckly my tires have always been good.

By Cass @ 09/22/09 08:34:53 PMreport abuse

Tariff

Obama are responding to the clamoring of Unions, he don't really give a crap about quality.

By Richard Rivera @ 09/22/09 05:22:58 PMreport abuse

China

We as Americans need to buy AMERICAN. Yes it is convenient to pick up that THINGY and be on your way, but you are sending your money to China.

Shame on you Walmart ( CHINA-MART).

By Mike Eastman @ 09/22/09 03:47:24 PMreport abuse

I think Clark's kids should all suck on cheap Chinese toys made with lead paint, while riding down the interstate on cheap Chinese tires that don't meet highway safety standards. Then when they're all in the hospital he can complain about the poor quality of his free health care! YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. My wife and kids ride on Yokohama tires.

By Tim @ 09/22/09 12:33:00 PMreport abuse

Chinese tires

No Chinese tires for me. They are not up to US standards. Think about that the next time you are toolin doen the highway at 70 or 75 with your wife and kids.

By Steve @ 09/22/09 10:28:49 AMreport abuse

I have had first hand experience with Chinese tires--they are pure crap--don't trust a Chinese tire on anything you own.

By Skip Kinsey @ 09/22/09 09:23:08 AMreport abuse

Clark you are dead wrong. Tires can be made economically in this country and we cannot afford the trade imbalance. Most countries won't even buy shoddy chinese goods - just travel to South America to see this.

By Brett Sorge @ 09/22/09 08:30:28 AMreport abuse

I would not buy Chinese tires in the first place. Look at the crap they have been sending over here the last few years.

By Raymond Fulton @ 09/22/09 12:28:30 AMreport abuse

Smoot Hawley

Two congressman from Ohio Messrs., Smoot and Hawley introduced a bill in congress to "help" the american economy during the depression. It was voted into law and which prohibited imports into the US. The law they surmise would force people to buy our goods. Their meddling prolonged the depress by at least five years, because the other countries put up similar restriction on imports. Those who do not heed historic lessons are doomed to repeat them.

By Mike M. @ 09/22/09 12:09:53 AMreport abuse

Michelin is French

Brad,
Michelin is a French company. Does the tariff apply to them?

By Greg @ 09/21/09 10:01:47 PMreport abuse

Tires

I am a master certified automotive technician, and fully believe that if one is driving on cheap tires, they are taking their lives into their own hands. It is not worth the safety compromise, be they domestic garbage or (tariff) imported garbage. In actuality, the brakes do not stop the car in an emergency braking situation- the 1 inch of tire that is in contact with the road ,at the point of braking, does. Unsolicited, but based on my experience, Michelin is the only tire worth buying- they are actually perfectly round from the factory, and I have never had a vibration complaint after properly installing them (but nothing of quality is cheap!). And DO flush your brake fluid every 2 years- just trying to keep you guys alive out there.

By Brad Vaughan @ 09/21/09 08:33:06 PMreport abuse

Free Market

Clark you are wrong on this one. Free markets should be competition from within the country. China will always be cheaper, not to mention quality issues. Soon there will be no American with a job to buy goods from ANY country.

By Steve Bukosky @ 09/21/09 03:20:09 PMreport abuse

free market

No such thing as a free market !! Only international corporations benefit by this false idea. What we need is a fair market to keep American jobs...

By David Vallely @ 09/21/09 02:56:48 PMreport abuse

I bought a new Toyota Rav4 one year ago. At 15,000 miles I got a blowout of an original equipment tire and was told by the excellent Discount Tire store that those tires were all in need of replacement and had been made for only about 15,000 miles, in other words, garbage. You can't BUY that tire on the market - it is garbage only for new cars. What a ripoff.

By Karen Allison @ 09/21/09 02:24:08 PMreport abuse

If the Chinese people are willing to put POISON in infant formula, what do you expect? There are no laws protecting consumers. If you buy chinese tires and they have defects, your only recourse the place you bought them from. Seriously, there's no consumer help for Chinese goods. The only car I'll put cheap chinese tires on is the one car I give to my mother in law to drive!

By Thadamere @ 09/21/09 01:45:00 PMreport abuse

Tires/free trade

Clark,
Free Trade and Fair Trade are different subjects. China has no epa/osha, and other govt controls that USA makers have to contend with. Free trade means the USA workers are getting the short end of the stick

By rob f` @ 09/21/09 01:35:39 PMreport abuse

TRADE

...folks, you cannot stop globalization..even whe you die, it will continue, it is permanent.......dry rot from ageing tires is a far worse dangerous death hazard than paying more for them....

By CONSUMER WARRIOR @ 09/21/09 01:13:57 PMreport abuse

Boycott China

Yeah Clark, you can see what a great audience you got!I believe that you should start pushing more for education in this country in addition of being the counsumers "guru"!The heck with the chineze bring all the jobs back home I will work for $3 an hour we need jobs in this country!Raise import taxes 100% for everybody not only China because that may smell "discrimination." Wake up fellows, see the truth! Buy only American even if you have to use your,unfortunatelly maxed out credit cards! Give these foreigners a lesson-buy only american, of course only if you find it! Good luck!

By Mario @ 09/19/09 08:30:21 PMreport abuse

Your Job in China

If you had to travel to China everyday to work then a global economy would work well. Lets see how long you would last broadcasting from China if those were the only jobs in your field! Im not saying that we shouldnt buy a dollars worth of goods from other countries but I would appreciate it if they would buy a dollars worth of my wheat that I raise!! Lets quit worrying about the consumer and how about the producer. Where do you think money comes from anyway from the bank? No, it comes from natural resourses from the good earth. Think about your answer about this global situation and realize that we need to protect the manufacturing and resourses in the USA.

By Jerry @ 09/19/09 08:00:29 PMreport abuse

Fair trade is the answer, not Free Trade

Clark, I love you but you suffer from what most Americans suffer. You cannot seem to be able to look beyond your nose. Communist Govt leaders are on a sucessful campaign to remove our industrial base. Our leaders and most USA residents are unable to look beyond the next quarters earnings to see this truth. Look beyond, expand your thought process and see this for what it is, a trade war 9we are losing, later to be followed by a real war, which we will lose that too, as we will be unable to sustain our capacity to defend ourselves and our allies. For goodness sake wake up Clark and America!!

By AnotherATSS @ 09/19/09 10:04:01 AMreport abuse

Tarrifs

A 20 percent tariff on all China made goods immediately would be great rising by 5 percent each year for each year China refuses to revalue their currency.
Don't stop with ties.

By TD @ 09/19/09 12:32:49 AMreport abuse

CHINESE TIRES

I don't care if Chinese tires are FREE I would not have them on my car. Also Clark is wrong there have been some safety issues with Chinese tires. Just do an internet search for recalled Chinese tires and you will have many sources to look at - I would be ashamed to help fund a communist country and the RED ARMY. The lack of environmental laws and the fact many factory workers are children Clark should also be ashamed. I agree with free trade - but there should also be fair trade. The cheap imports that were once made by American workers have cost millions and millions of US jobs. This country is now paying dearly for our addiction to these cheap imports. The quality of almost anything I have purchased made in China is terrible. I have a toy train(USA) that still works that I recieved for Christmas over 30 years ago. Many toys(Chinese) my kids get for Christmas now are lucky to last 30 days. I remember when Walmart used to advertise how many US jobs they created by having so many products in their stores made in the USA. I can only imagine how many millions of jobs they have since cost this country by importing almost all of their junk from China. CLARK - do some investigating and see how much that cheap shirt you wear really cost and if you are helping to fund a Communist military with your purchases that have no thought behind them except what comes out of your million $ wallet. I have tools that someone gave me made in China and the tip of the screwdriver bent trying to loosen a screw - I used my Craftsman screwdriver with a lifetime warranty and had no trouble. Clark - millions of jobs and trillions of dollars have been lost when you really take the true impact of unfair trade practices into account. I imagine some of the Habitat homes you have helped to build are occupied by people who once had a decent paying factory job with benefits. I hope you read my comments and really think about the true impact of what we purchase as Americans. With the shape our country is currently in - I think it is more important than ever to try to purchase products made in the USA.

By MAB @ 09/17/09 01:33:39 AMreport abuse

Tarifs

I have to agree with Clark!Raising import taxes doesn't do any good to the consumer! On the contrary it hurts everyone else minus the politicians and ,of course the big business.It seems that the president hired the wrong people to advise him on quite a few matters!On the other hand some of the comments suggest to buy american made products!Only if you can afford it and it is not because of the unions and their corrupt bosses who fight for decent wages but because most people in this country live from paycheck to paycheck on borrowed money and can hardly afford to pay american labor wages for imported products!We as a nation save less than almost anybody in the world and carry the most debt!The borrower is servant to the lender and that's probably the main reason we have to import most of our goods from other countries!

By Mario @ 09/16/09 09:44:48 PMreport abuse

Relax. It's all theater and somewhat ripe. Obama needs union support for the health bill. Union gets the tariff. Meanwhile the Chinese recognize the wink and go to the WTO to have the tariff negated. Still dunno what we paid our friends in Beijing for the aggravation.

By Edgardo Campoamor Jr. @ 09/16/09 05:30:14 PMreport abuse

Chinese Tire Tarrifs

Unfortunately, we've seen too well the difference between free trade and fair trade.

Bush's elimination of quotas with China and expansion of free trade with the country was not only devastating to our economy, but also to our Latin American neighbors (and further enflamed the illegal immigration problems).

It's time for fair trade with China, not free trade.

By Jay Moyes @ 09/16/09 05:11:34 PMreport abuse

We have enough tire choices in America. we need to buy American produced products to keep jobs here (even if they cost more than Chinese products). The new American business model seems to be: outsource any part or product that you need to foriegn countries that can make it a few dollars cheaper. (whether through low labor costs, inferior quality control, or lower material cost) We have become a society of consumers who just want the cheapest products and our companies want the biggest profit margins they can get. No wonder we owe trade debts to China and others.
We used to be a world known quality producer of superior goods (cars, technology, entertainment, and consumer goods) thats what made the baby boomers rich.
Then we got greedy and lazy and started sacrificing quality and American jobs for higher profits and less work. American craftsmanship has been traded for lower quality, foriegn made, products that we accept because they are a few bucks cheaper.
The construction industry has become a bunch of greedy white middlemen making money off of semi-skilled, immigrant workers (legal and mostly not), putting out inferior work..proving the phrase "they don't build them like they used to."
We need to become a nation of producers again instead of aging lazy boomers and young debt bearing consumers...stop buying cheap Chinese products it's disgusting enough that the Arabs and Chinese are buying up chunks of America... we don't need to help than any by having a huge trade defecit with them too. Go buy some American tires, they might be a bit more expensive but they are probably higher quality and will last longer, saving you money in the end....and unless the American companies tires are produced in Mexico, you will be supporting an American worker, not some chinese guy making $4 a day.

By Dave @ 09/16/09 03:37:20 PMreport abuse

Sugar thieves

The American sugar cane industry is one industry that should never exist because the world price of sugar is way below what it takes to grow the stuff. Congress is has been giving welfare to these folks for years.

By jimmy @ 09/16/09 02:46:19 PMreport abuse

Curb free market and you & I suffer

I'm no economist but tariff on Chinese tires can have a spiraling effect on our lives, considering that 16% of American tire consumer-market uses them. Most of the goods criss-cross the country by road. Cost of this transportation is an essential element in the price you and I pay for our groceries, clothes, machines and what have you...

Once the price for Chinese tires goes up, transporters will either have to increase what they charge their consumers (and ultimately us) or they will have to buy tires from other existing sellers. In the latter case, increased demand for existing tires can also raise the price for other non-Chinese tires which will also increase cost of transportation! So, we are had either way...

Hey, going by how the government manages the budget, perhaps they should sell additional debt to Chinese to cover the tariff...LOL

By SK @ 09/16/09 02:24:33 PMreport abuse

Chinese Brand

Ivan, your tires could be just out of round,no rebalance will help that. Believe it or not, some tires are not completely round

By Guy @ 09/16/09 02:20:11 PMreport abuse

Tariffs won't work anyway

Instead of buying them from China, we'd just buy them from South America or Africa. You know, thos other places where rubber trees grow? For whatever reason, we just don't have a lot of natural rubber (which has many desirable qualities over synthetics) in the US. I'm not sure why, though.

The only think tariffs would do is upset China and please union bosses who erroneously think this will help them.

By Medical Student @ 09/16/09 11:08:28 AMreport abuse

Who can pay all these taxes

"Chinese items, the quality is very poor"

General comments like this are just stupid. A lot of well known U.S. brands are made outside this country. Just because they are made in China does not mean they are low quality.

But beyond this, how the heck are the middle class going to pay for all of these stupid taxes???? We keep getting hit by this administration from all sides. Every day this stupid administration has to try and tax us more and do it right now to save our butt. Give me a break!

By antiamerican by foot @ 09/16/09 10:54:34 AMreport abuse

Not so sure

Not so sure this is such a bad thing when you have the chinese manipulating there own currency to serve there own interests. They play unfair to protect their own interests and why should America not to do the same? Point out one country or individual who does not protect their own interests.

By chad @ 09/16/09 10:43:36 AMreport abuse

Bankrupcy of America

What will happen if the Chinese stopped buying our debt? Obama must have forgotten that the borrower is servant to the lender. If he wants to continue his massive borrowing and spending mega-projects, he better start kissing the Chinese's you-know-what, and not upset them with unreasonable tariffs.

By z @ 09/16/09 10:39:09 AMreport abuse

Chinese brand

My experience with one such brand is "Prime Well". It's been cheap a year ago (more expensive now).
Huge mistake to go with them! My MPG dropped like a rock, the tires shake dispite multiple attempts
to rebalance them and realign the wheels. It is not a good idea to put them on your can at all.
I now regret that I was cheap and didn't have Yokohama installed instead.

By Ivan @ 09/16/09 09:06:33 AMreport abuse

Increased prices on tires are the not exactly what the recession strapped consumer needs .

There will be more loss of life and $ due to accidents from people drive on bald and "used" tires .

By Pete @ 09/16/09 06:57:56 AMreport abuse

A Free Market within the US

Unlike sugar, is there any reason why tires can't all be made in the US? Who is to say that competition between tire manufacturers within the US couldn't lower our prices? Why do we need China? I've not yet found one Chinese product that was well-made and long-lasting. I'll pay 30% if I know the tires are well-made.

By Laura @ 09/16/09 12:11:33 AMreport abuse

Korean tires

I buy Korean tires. I have never found chinese tires.

By anonymous @ 09/15/09 10:51:15 PMreport abuse

Clark is Steaming

Bailouts, Takeovers, Tarp, Obamacare? And you are mad about tires? WTF?

By Barry Coe @ 09/15/09 10:25:27 PMreport abuse

chinese products

Chinese items that i get at Walmart most of the time the quality is very poor, no matter how cheap they are

By By Joe @ 09/15/09 10:03:12 PMreport abuse

By By Joe @ 09/15/09 10:02:01 PMreport abuse

Clark Upset with President Obama

Mr. Clark Howard, I beg to disagree with you here. There is no level playing field with China. I travel to China very often. I really love the place and the people there but China is not playing by the rules.
China has successfully created her Economic System in the Global Economy. For example the cost of living in China is very very low not the standard of living.
Try to buy the American product in China, you will pay at least 100%. $5.00 in China goes a long way but not here in the USA. This is the reason why it makes more sense to manufacture in China than US.

By Amos @ 09/15/09 09:47:50 PMreport abuse

recalls

I remember about a year or two ago there were several chinese tires that had recalls due to unsafe construction. They were limited to only a couple brands, though. Also, many tires for motorcycles, ATVs, and large trucks are made in china.

By R.L.Evans @ 09/15/09 08:48:10 PMreport abuse

in this economy, how many people will drive longer on tires that are going bald because of the cost. talk about a safety issue.

By terri @ 09/15/09 07:13:40 PMreport abuse

More socialist tactics at work here...

Typical Obama; let's interfere with our wonderful free-market economy a bit more and PO our allies in the process. Why, you ask? To increase taxes of course. Chinese pay Obama off to sell tires here. Retailers increase prices to cover the payoff. End consumers end up paying more taxes - simple! Just another back-door method of squeezing more tax money out of a nation of tax-weary citizenry.

So much for Chairman Obama, the Great American Hero! PPPPPFFFFFffffttttt!!!

By Another Old Guy @ 09/15/09 07:05:20 PMreport abuse

Chinese Tire Tariff

Tariffs are not the way to deal with a safety issue. More expensive unsafe tires are still unsafe. Tariffs just make international relations difficult and raise prices.

By Gerald Robinson @ 09/15/09 05:41:10 PMreport abuse

Tariff on Chinese tires

I can only assume that it will apply to tires sold at discount stores such as Sam's Club, Walmart and Costco etc....stores that many Americans, such as our family, regularly use to save money.

By Magical Mischief Maker @ 09/15/09 04:34:22 PMreport abuse

Stockpile tires

Clark is flat out wrong about not stockpiling tires because they will degrade.
Tires will last indefinitely if stored out of direct sunlight, away from ozone producing electrical appliances, and not allowed to come in contact with hydrocarbons (petroleum based products).
The problem is not knowing how the tires have been stored before you bought them. Dating of tires makes sense in this case so you know they are fresh. Then stockpile away in the proper manner and pull one out ten or 20 years from now and it will be in as good a condition as when you began to store them.

By Jeff P. @ 09/15/09 03:57:44 PMreport abuse

China Tariffs

This is anti-free market and a payoff to union boses who funded Obama's election

By Jacob @ 09/15/09 03:49:09 PMreport abuse

I know with large equipment tires the Chinese were recently found guilty of dumping, selling the tires lower than their cost to produce them. Could it be the same here?

By John @ 09/15/09 03:46:59 PMreport abuse

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Sep 15, 2009 -- Clark upset with President Obama's tariff on Chinese tires

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