President George W. Bush rejected Friday proposed quotas to limit rising imports from China of mechanical devices known as pedestal actuators.
In October, the US International Trade Commission voted 3-to-2 in favor of a request for relief by US manufacturer Motion Systems Corp. of Eatontown, N.J. The commission recommended import quotas.
But Bush said the overall impact of quotas on the US economy would be more damaging than any relief to Motion Systems.
"Even if the quota were to benefit the primary domestic producer, the cost of the quota to consumers, both the downstream purchasing industry and users of the downstream products, would substantially outweigh any benefit to producers' income," the president said in a prepared statement.
Pedestal actuators are used in mechanical wheelchairs, dentists' chairs and industrial equipment.