Word: tariffers
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...Until now. A widening trade dispute threatens to ratchet up tension in the China-U.S. relationship, with potential consequences for the entire world economy. The spat began on Sept. 11, when the Obama Administration announced it will slap tariffs of as much as 35% on Chinese-made tires, effectively pricing them out of the low end of the American market. Two days later, China's Ministry of Commerce said it would start antidumping investigations against imports of some U.S. chicken products and auto parts. Though the ministry's announcement made no mention of the tire tariffs, the timing...
...Some analysts fear the ill will caused by the tariff dispute could lead to an escalating round of conflict between the two nations, souring overall U.S.-China ties. "The action taken by the U.S. government no doubt will damage the Sino-American relationship seriously at a time when mutual trust is most needed," comments Yu Yongding, an economist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing. "This is indeed a very bad beginning for the Obama government in terms of cooperation" between the two countries. (See pictures of people around the world watching Obama's Inauguration...
...sensitive to sentiment at home. With unemployment in the U.S. still increasing, the Obama Administration is under pressure to take more action to preserve and create American jobs. Beijing's leadership, though not elected, can also be surprisingly reactive to public opinion, and the days following Washington's tariff announcement have seen an outpouring of criticism of the U.S. decision in the Chinese press and on the blogosphere. "Americans are shameless," noted an Internet commentator. "They always blame others for their own problems." Critics accused the U.S. of sacrificing its relationship with China to domestic politics, and calls for retaliation...
...That can be seen clearly in the continuing stream of agreements tying together regional powers. In August, India inked two FTAs in a week, with South Korea and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). ASEAN and China are scheduled to bring most of the final tariff reductions of an FTA signed in 2004 into full effect by 2010. More deals are likely. Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou has made his policy priority reaching a comprehensive economic framework with China that would reduce tariffs on Taiwan goods entering the Chinese market. Yukio Hatoyama, Japan's presumptive Prime Minister...
Duprey and many others in the renewable-energy industry would prefer a feed-in tariff, which requires utilities to buy alternative electricity at above-market rates. Feed-in tariffs have already been used with considerable success in European countries like Spain and Germany, where renewable power has achieved greater penetration than in the U.S. But there seems to be little chance of that happening in Washington, in part because the nascent renewable-energy industry lacks lobbying might. "It's hard out there for us," says Duprey. "We're not as well organized as the coal or nuclear industry." Renewables like...