The US imposed extra taxes on Chinese tires in 2009, which China challenged in the WTO. The Appellate Body upheld the tariffs, marking the first time a safeguard was upheld in a WTO dispute. This was also the first time an accession protocol was used successfully as a defense, and the first time China lost as a complaining party. The safeguard was requested by a labor union, not the industry. The case has legal, policy, and economic implications regarding China's Accession Protocol, the Safeguards Agreement, and WTO accession law.