Part 2; U.S. auto industry is still not happy
President Matt Blunt, the American Automotive Policy council in Washington. He used to be a governor of Missouri with a thriving auto industry.
Takanori Okabe
In the bilateral preparatory negotiations between Japan and the United States concerning Japan’s entry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks, the two nations struck a deal, with Japan making significant concessions in the automotive sector, including allowing U.S. car tariffs to be kept to the maximum extent. The U.S. auto industry, as well as Congress backed by the industry, however, is not happy with the agreement.
When the delegation of Japanese anti-TPP lawmakers visiting the U.S. asked whether the U.S. auto industry will support Japan’s entry into the TPP talks under the conditions agreed in the preliminary negotiations, President Matt Blunt of the American Automotive Policy Council representing the three major U.S. automakers said the answer is “no.”
Blunt, also former governor of Missouri with a thriving auto industry, said that the industry continues to oppose Japan’s entry, as the actions agreed in the bilateral negotiations are not what the industry was hoping for nor what the industry demanded the government to work on, adding that a TPP deal should be closed with the current 11 participants before Japan is allowed to join.
Meanwhile, Nobuyuki Fukushima, former Lower House member and a member of the delegation, interpreted the U.S. auto industry’s opposition as their ploy to pressure Japan to further liberalize its auto market. President Blunt said that if Japan is to join the TPP negotiations, the U.S. auto industry will ask the U.S. government to bring up the issue of Japan’s light motor vehicle tax, which they say gives favorable treatment to small cars. Blunt said Japan’s non-tariff barriers, such as standard and certification, taxes, barriers that hinder the development of distribution and service networks and strict motor vehicle inspection system, cannot be dealt with in the negotiations for free trade agreements such as the TPP talks, implying that such issues should be addressed at the bilateral negotiations which will be held in parallel with the TPP talks. He also expressed concerns over weakening of the yen in the currency markets.
Congressmen who receive support from the auto industry share the same intentions. An assistant to Sander Levin, the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Ways and Means and a representative from Michigan where major automakers are based, stressed that the market which needs liberalization is not the U.S. market but that of Japan. The assistant argued that the U.S. should not decrease its car tariffs unless Japan takes measures to liberalize its auto market, saying the problem with the Japanese auto market is not tariffs but non-tariff barriers, considering the fact that even South Korean cars, which are similar to Japanese cars, do not sell well in Japan.
An assistant to another Congressman from Michigan said it is natural for the U.S. auto industry to demand the governments to take measures, as most of the U.S. trade deficit with Japan derives from trade in the automotive sector. A member of the Japanese delegation said that in the U.S., “they figure everything, including the TPP talks, only from the viewpoint of whether it benefits their own constituencies.” “Interest groups’ control on politics is even stronger than in Japan.”
(May 14, 2013)