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Report: Obama’s trade rules will cost U.S. jobs

President Obama has introduced several new trade policies since he first became Commander in Chief. According to a report issued today, President Obama’s newly-imposed trade laws with several countries could result in substantial U.S. job losses at a time when the nation’s unemployment situation is already in shambles. So far, the estimated damage could result in the loss of 585,800 American jobs:

The study done for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce attributed almost two-thirds of the lost jobs, or 383,400, to Congress’ failure to approve free trade agreements with Colombia and South Korea.

If other countries retaliate by shutting American companies out of just 1 percent of their domestic stimulus programs, the “net employment loss to the United States from the Recovery Act’s “Buy American” provisions could total 176,800. In the event retaliation escalates, U.S. job losses will mount dramatically,” the study said.

Lastly, the Obama administration’s failure to resolve a cross-border trucking dispute with Mexico threatens another 25,600 U.S. jobs, the study said.

It’s likely that the timing of this report is no big surprise. Last Friday the president claimed he was only enforcing trade rules with China when he decided “to impose a new duty of 35 per cent on Chinese t[i]re imports on top of an existing 4 per cent tariff.”

The decision prompted Chinese officials to impose their own tariffs on American chicken and auto parts imported into China.

As we noted on Monday, “If nothing is done, the effect will be a sharp spike in the price of some imported tires — and possibly the loss of more jobs in America.”