New Trade ProtectionismAlthough Barack Obama alarmed free traders last year with protectionist-sounding pronouncements on the campaign trail, such as one about the need to renegotiate NAFTA, optimists among them dismissed this as mere posturing designed to placate restive trade unions.Yet a decision by the White House to impose punitive tariffs (35% for the first year, falling by five percentage points a year, to 25% in the third year) on Chinese-made pneumatic tyres now raises serious doubts about Mr Obama's commitment to free trade.The duties are to be imposed on September 26th under a part of American trade law known as "Section 421".The American government argues that these tyres are being imported into America from China in "such increased quantities and under such conditions as to cause or threaten to cause market disruption to domestic producers" of competing tyres.America imported tyres worth $1.3 billion from China between January and the end of July this year.Under the terms of China's accession to the WTO in 2001，countries have the right to impose tariffs in response to a "surge in imports" from China.But there is always scope for dispute about what constitutes enough of an export surge to justify the use of tariffs, and China has already notified the WTO of its intention to file a case against America.
