Washington  – US President Barack Obama slapped a tariff on tyres imported from China amid a trade complaint by a major US union, the White House said late Friday.

Obama signed the additional duties on tyre imports from China for three years “in order to remedy a market disruption cause by a surge in tyre imports,” the White House said.

The new tariffs will begin with a 35-per-cent duty the first year and decrease to 30 per cent the second year and 25 per cent the third year, the White House said. The additional tariff comes on top of an existing 4-per-cent duty.

The United Steelworkers union had complained of dumping of Chinese-made tyres. The US International Trade Commission had found the products were being imported in the United States in a way that threatened domestic producers and the group had recommended even higher tariffs of 55 per cent.

The union is a key constituency of Obama and he has sought their support in fighting to overhaul the US health care system.

US tyre manufacturers, many of whom also have plants in China, had not sought the tariffs. The imports amount to 1.8 billion dollars annually. (dpa)