ATF: Obama breaks another campaign promise

September 16, 2009
by Personal Liberty News Desk

The anti-tax group Americans for Tax Reform (ATF) has said that by placing a new tariff on tire imports from China, President Obama has broken his campaign pledge not to raise taxes on Americans making less than $250,000 a year.

It also alleged that bowing to pressure from labor unions, the president has put additional burden on already cash-strapped American families.

Grover Norquist, president of ATF, says a tariff is a tax on consumers. "This decision will drive up the cost of tires, increasing the economic burden on families already struggling with the high cost of transportation," he stresses.

The organization adds that because the tariffs will be applied to low-end tires (costing $50-$60), low-income families and individuals will be the most affected.

Last week, President Obama authorized a 35 percent tariff on Chinese tire imports in an effort to stem a surge of foreign-made tires on the U.S. market, which some have said cost 7,000 jobs here in America, according to Asia Times.

United Steelworkers president Leo W. Gerard praised the decision saying the president has "made [it] clear that he will enforce America’s trade laws and stand with American workers."

However, the move attracted criticism from free-trade and free-market supporters who expressed concerns it could spark a trade war of retaliatory tariffs and spur a protectionist trend in U.S. trade policy.

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