The Cato Institute’s Daniel Ikenson has just posted this, a succinct summary of the winners and losers from President Obama’s decision to impose punitive tariffs on imports of tires from China. It was a short-sighted decision, pandering to Obama’s base of support in Big Labor (wasn’t giving the unions a huge share of both GM and Chrysler payback enough?). China already plans to retaliate with huge tariff increases on some American products, including frozen chicken. The move is similar to George Bush’s tariffs on imported steel enacted just before the 2002 midterm elections to try to get Republican votes in  House and Senate contests seats in West Virginia, a steel-producing state.  As short-sighted and nakedly political as that decision was, at least it didn’t come at a time of global economic crisis. With this year’s precipitous drop in global trade and heightened tensions with China, this move comes at the worst possible time. It risks igniting a trade war between two of the world’s largest economies when the world can least afford it, and stifling the recovery before it has even really begun.

President Obama Subsidizes President Obama with Tire Tariff