Doha Push Worries U.S. Auto, Textile, Steel Groups
U.S. automakers, now facing their worst sales slump in 15 years, are nervously eyeing world trade talks they fear could open the U.S. market to more imports without giving their exports a boost.
“We’re worried about the direction it’s taking,” Steve Collins, president of the Automotive Trade Policy Council, which represents General Motors Corp, Ford Motor Co and Chrysler LCC, said in an interview. “We wish our negotiators the best, but we are worried,” he said.
The automakers‘ anxiety is matched by concerns in the U.S. textile and steel industry as world trade negotiators prepare to take what many believe is a high-stakes gamble to bring the nearly seven-year-old trade round to a successful close.
The United States, which has a 2.5 percent tariff on passenger cars and a 25 percent duty on light trucks, imported $245.8 billion of autos and auto parts last year but exported only about half that amount, or $124.3 billion.
On Tuesday, Ford reported its U.S. sales fell 28 percent in June on an unadjusted basis, driven by steep declines in the sales of trucks and SUVs under rising gasoline prices.
“It’s a tough time for automakers,” both in the United States and overseas, White House spokesman Tony Fratto told reporters on Air Force One en route to an event with President George W. Bush in Mississippi. Continued…
Tags: Auto, Auto Parts, Auto Show, automaker, automakers, cars, Chrysler, Ford, ford motor, ford motor co, gasoline prices, general motors corp, Geo, light trucks, mississippi, passenger cars, steep declines
