US automakers urged to be blunt with Bush on trade
14 Nov 2006 00:28:07 GMT Source: Reuters
By John Crawley WASHINGTON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Congressional lawmakers urged Detroit automakers to forcefully address Asian currency and trade imbalances when their chief executives meet with President George W. Bush on Tuesday. "I want to see a change of attitude from this administration," Rep. John Dingell, a Michigan Democrat and the incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, told reporters on Monday. "I want to see a fair and level playing field." Dingell and other members of the bipartisan Michigan congressional delegation met with senior executives of Ford Motor Co. <F.N>, General Motors Corp. <GM.N> and DaimlerChrysler AG's <DCXGn.DE> Chrysler Group to review the industry's agenda ahead of the White House meeting. Lawmakers, especially the incoming Democratic majority, wanted to ensure that their views are made clear to Bush and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who also plans to attend. The automakers have been seeking a meeting with Bush since last year, mainly to discuss energy issues, including tax breaks and other incentives to build more vehicles that run on alternative fuels to counter soaring gasoline prices and curb what Bush calls America's addiction to imported oil. High health care and pension costs for workers and retirees are also issues auto companies would like the government to address. White House spokesman Tony Snow would not characterize what the Bush administration expects from discussions with Alan Mulally of Ford, Rick Wagoner of General Motors, and Tom LaSorda of Chrysler Group. But Snow said the president would listen to their concerns. Previously, the administration urged Detroit to make more relevant products and restructure their operations in order to compete better with Japanese rivals such as Toyota Motor Corp. <7203.T> , Honda Motor Co. <7267.T> and Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. <7201.T>. The Michigan lawmakers said they largely agree with Detroit's agenda but leaders of the group believe the administration's currency and trade policy are paramount when addressing the financial woes of GM, Chrysler and Ford. "They need to understand -- and I hope the Big Three will be blunt and direct with the administration on this -- that their competitors are not companies overseas. Their competitors are countries overseas," said Sen. Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat. Levin and the other lawmakers -- as well as the industry -- believe the Japanese yen is artificially undervalued versus the dollar. This, they argue, hurts Detroit's ability to compete because it allows Japanese automakers to price more aggressively and add more options to vehicles. Additionally, there is U.S. concern with both Japan and South Korea that American automakers face many nontariff barriers that restrict their opportunities to sell vehicles in those countries. The administration is pushing South Korea to open its up its auto market in free trade negotiations but there are no talks currently over differences with Japan. Some consumer and environmental groups say Japan has been successful because they emphasize fuel efficiency over the size and power of big-selling U.S. pickups and sport utilities. The Consumer Federation of America said in a survey released on Monday that top selling models at Toyota -- the Camry and Corolla -- posted double-digit percentage gains in fuel efficiency over the past 10 years to 26.8 and 32.7 miles per gallon respectively. Popular U.S. models, mostly pickups and SUVs, did not come close to their Japanese rivals.
