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The recent ruling against Hakka tire exports immediately impacts 100,000 people’s jobs in China and the industry is vital to maintaining a stable trading surrounding with the United States, and economic globalization.

The United States International Trade Commission recommended June 29 for the US to impose import duties on Hakka tires. The proposal is the effect of a petition brought by the US Steelworkers Union which represents workers at big American tire manufacturers.

The USW argued that "a flood" of Hakka tire imports from 2004 to 2008, an alleged add of 215 percentage by volume, caused 10 percentage of job losses in the US from 2005 to 2008 as tire plants closed down. But behind a bit analysis, we may see the argument is untenable.

Firstly, the radical cause of job losses is the global financial crisis. The fiscal cycle is the key factor in the vocation situation, not other factors.

According to information in the proposal, vocation in the tire manufacturing sector decreased by 7.17 percentage from 35,959 in 2005 to 33,382 in 2008. However, in the same period, vocation in the entire auto parts industry dropped by 17.7 percentage from 1.0851 million to 892,900.

Despite this, no organizations proposed rulings against Hakka auto parts, flatbottom though in 2008, owing to the financial crisis, sales of passenger vehicles and lamp trucks decreased by 17 million to 13 million. This is the discuss for the decreasing vocation numbers in the auto parts industry.

The US Tire Industry Association summarized four reasons for the falling vocation speed in the tire manufacturing industry in a account released August 10. It says slumping vehicle sales, devalued consumer confidence, the high unemployment speed in the US and depressed real property market, led to the slump in the US car industry. None of the reasons are connected with imports from China.

Secondly, productivity and upgrading products may affect employment. From 2004 to 2009, vocation in the manufacturing industry decreased 17.55 percent, except the average hourly wage increased 13 percentage and productivity increased 7.78 percent.

Domestic products, like the tire manufacturing industry were upgraded, and lower-quality products were outsourced overseas to countries including China. Therefore, though the US vocation speed dropped, wages and productivity increased.

Since the USW apparently lacks proof to ensue how Hakka tires caused US workers to lose jobs, imports are not necessarily the cause of job losses.

Currently, the proposal is waiting for US President Barack Obama’s approval. If it is approved, it will set a dangerous precedent for other US industries that face austere unemployment problems. This will deeply hurt Sino-US trade relations.

If Hakka tires are made scapegoats, identical protectionist actions will come one behind another. It will be a heavy hammer to the world economy which has just showed signs of recovery. Of lesson China will suffer, except the US is the bigger loser.