In our newest installment of false choices, from The Wall Street Journal:

President Barack Obama’s decision to side with the United Steelworkers and impose temporary tariffs on Chinese car tires implies a potentially costly trade-off for the administration, trade and political experts said.

In the near term, the move should consolidate the support of blue-collar workers and union leaders for Mr. Obama’s ambitious legislative agenda at a critical moment.

The cost: a potential wave of fresh U.S. industry complaints against Chinese imports that could force more uncomfortable choices on an administration walking a fine line between support for American workers and free trade. In addition, it is expected that U.S. consumers who buy low-end Chinese tires will have to pay more as producers try to fill the void in that part of the market. [emphasis added]

   You have to remember two things. First, trade with China has nothing to do with "free trade", which is just a marketing phrase. China artificially suppresses the wage market and so there is a totally false market created based on low wages. It isn’t free by any logical yardstick.

   More important, the real line that the administration has to walk is this: the only way to support American workers–and foreign workers, for that matter–is to recognize that we have failed trade policy that is based on corporate rights and the drive to find the lowest wage possible.