A decision went down a couple of weeks ago regarding the United States International Trade Commission voted to impose duties on as much as 55 percent of Chinese tire imports. These are car tires that are offered at very low costs.

The United States International Trade Commission voted on this because they felt these Chinese tires are affecting the United States tire market. The United States market has been affected by the economic downturn, and there is worry that not imposing duties on the cheap Chinese tires will hurt the United States market even more.

President Barack Obama has to approve the vote if the tariffs are beneficial or not to the market.  Opponents of the duties say that by imposing them the market will continue to suffer. China is the largest provider of tire imports to the United States and they sell for about half of what American made tires sell for. Therefore, they are very attractive to consumers, especially those needing large truck wheels.

The United Steelworkers Union filed the case, citing that the cheap Chinese tires are taking a real bite out of the United States market.  Opponents say that the duties will just be passed onto the consumers who are purchasing the tires, and they will not have as many options as they once had in the past, before the duties.

Will doing this really save domestic jobs? Or is this just an industry that is not able to keep up with the times and the current economy? It’s difficult to take sides on this one, consumers need cheap tires, especially now, but families need those jobs. It’s a tough call.

In a country where our truck rims are more expensive than the tires around them, what is more important? American jobs or cheap tires for consumers, it’s an interesting debate.