Buy America Provision Buried in Energy Bill Small Print Triggers Rebuke

But First Snide's Remarks: Do 320 member of the U.S. Congress believe that free trade is passe? or maybe they just don't read what they are voting for...no wonder the U.S. is in financial trouble...What do you think - msnide@theautochannel.com

Washington DC July 22, 2009; The AIADA newsletter reported that a one-sentence amendment benefiting domestic automakers quietly inserted into a $33 billion spending bill approved Friday has reverberated across the Atlantic, marking another flashpoint in the continuing "Buy America" debate.

CongressDaily reports that the amendment to the FY10 Energy and Water Appropriations bill by Rep. Larry Kissell (D-N.C.) stipulates that "none of the funds made available in this Act may be used to purchase passenger motor vehicles other than those manufactured by Ford, General Motors or Chrysler."

In specifically naming the Big Three automakers, the Kissell amendment goes even further than prior legislative attempts to carve out preferences for domestic firms.

The move prompted a rebuke Tuesday from European Union Ambassador John Bruton, who called it a "troubling protectionist" provision.

The Kissell amendment was wrapped into a managers' package of mostly technical provisions by Rep. Ed Pastor (D-Ariz.) and was approved on a 261-172 vote Wednesday. The underlying bill was approved Friday on a 320-97 vote.

AIADA strongly opposes all "Buy American" provisions and believes they have no place in today's global auto industry.