Trade War Watch 22: Obama Wags The Dog, Drags China In Front Of WTO Again In Ohio - Again

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

President Barack Obama will carry a familiar gift to election rallies in Ohio today.

“The Obama administration will announce a trade complaint against China today as President Barack Obama campaigns in Ohio, alleging impermissible subsidies of auto- and auto-parts exports that encourage outsourcing to China from the U.S.” an administration official told Bloomberg.

According to the report, the U.S. will accuse China of $1 billion in illegal subsidies between 2009-11.

This wag the dog trade war has a rich tradition. In July, the United States reported China to the WTO over extra duties on more than $3 billion worth of cars imported from the U.S. This also coincided with Obama campaigning in Ohio.

While UAW members will love to hear the new salvos in a trade war with China, car-makers will flinch. Their profitability, and large parts of the viability of U.S. production, hinge on the importation of cheap Chinese parts. It was Detroit that spearheaded outsourcing to China, often to factories owned by Detroit car companies. Especially the viability of GM depends on good relations with its largest market China .

The industry believes and hopes that this is mostly pre-election theater. Would the Obama administration be serious, it could easily slap a punitive tariff on Chinese parts instead of going the long and winded WTO route.

According to Liu Li-Gang, a Hong Kong-based economist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group and former World Bank employee, the “rhetoric will likely be toned down following the polls, as the competitiveness of the U.S. auto industry will suffer should they impose sanctions on imports of relatively cheap Chinese parts.” Also, the Chinese will point out that the bailout of GM alone was more than 50 times bigger than their alleged illegal subsidies.

What is discouraging is how readily this nonsense is consumed. Raising tariffs would raise the price of U.S. made cars, hitting consumers in the wallet. To compete, cars would have to be made in Canada and Mexico, which don’t have these tariffs. More jobs would get lost. Eventually, production of Asian car parts would migrate to other low cost countries.

Today, China files a counter complaint abolut close to 30 products that have previously been targeted by U.S. duties. According to the WTO, the products include steel, tires, magnets, chemicals, kitchen appliances, wood flooring and wind towers.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

More by Bertel Schmitt

Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 24 comments
  • -Cole- -Cole- on Sep 18, 2012

    Obama is stupid. There is no way around it

  • DOF_Power DOF_Power on Sep 19, 2012

    Free trade is a doctrine based on the old white power/superiority racist/xenophobic belief. Now the that truth has been exposed that chinese can do more then silk, indians more then grow spice, brazilians more then grow coffee they top politicos don't know what to do.

  • FreedMike Off topic, but folks, this site is not working well for me from a technical standpoint, and it doesn't matter if I'm using my phone, or my computer (on two different browsers). It locks up and makes it impossible to type anything in after a certain point. Anyone else having these issues?
  • Syke Kinda liked the '57, hated the '58. Then again, I hated the entire '58 GM line except for the Chevrolet. Which I liked better than the '57's. Still remember dad's '58 Impala hardtop, in the silver blue that was used as the main advertising color.
  • Dartdude The bottom line is that in the new America coming the elites don't want you and me to own cars. They are going to make building cars so expensive that the will only be for the very rich and connected. You will eat bugs and ride the bus and live in a 500sq-ft. apartment and like it. HUD wants to quit giving federal for any development for single family homes and don't be surprised that FHA aren't going to give loans for single family homes in the very near future.
  • Ravenuer The rear view of the Eldo coupe makes it look fat!
  • FreedMike This is before Cadillac styling went full scale nutty...and not particularly attractive, in my opinion.
Next