Obama and China: A marriage of protectionism?

The Council on Foreign Relations reports on the recent decision by the Obama administration to ratchet up tariffs against entry-level tires from China. Cornell's Eswad Prasade presages that the move may commence a "full-blown trade war" between the powers -- a frightening scenario considering that both countries are only recently mending the wounds of the financial crisis. From the other side of the fence, some experts believe that Obama may be preparing to open up trade at later dates: "Four previous U.S. presidents each made moves to protect domestic industries at the outset of their administrations before later pursuing free trade agendas."