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Automakers Support Super 301 Decisions

3 May 1999

Automakers Support Super 301 Decisions

WASHINGTON, April 30 -- The following statement was released by
Stephen J. Collins, President, Automotive Trade Policy Council:

    The Automotive Trade Policy Council and its member companies --
DaimlerChrysler, Ford Motor Company, and General Motors Corporation -- support
the Administration's decision to include Japan and Korea on its list of
countries in which it will continue to closely monitor progress in improving
access for US and other imported vehicles.
    In Japan, poor economic conditions have resulted in depressed sales of
automobiles and trucks.  However, it is troubling that sales of imported
vehicles have fallen by more than twice the rate of domestic Japanese
vehicles.  As the USTR report notes, sales in Japan of North American autos
and trucks by DaimlerChrysler, Ford and General Motors dropped 34% last year,
on top of a 20% decline in 1997.
    In the case of Korea, the United States government is today completing its
first official consultations with the government of Korea to assess progress
under a 1998 auto agreement to improve market access for imported autos and
trucks in that country.  It is encouraging that the government of Korea, while
undergoing a major and difficult restructuring of its economy, is implementing
on schedule a number of important reforms in its tax, regulatory, and
financial systems which were called for in the 1998 Automotive Agreement.
    Sales of domestic autos in Korea are beginning to rebound to near
pre-crisis levels and could reach one million units this year. Unfortunately,
sales in Korea of imported vehicles from all over the world totaled only 444
units in the first quarter of 1999, only 165 of those from North America.  For
this reason, it is appropriate that the US government continue to closely
monitor the situation in the Korean auto market under the provisions of Super
301.

    The Automotive Trade Policy Council is a Washington, D.C.-based
organization which supports and promotes the international economic, trade,
and investment interests of its member companies -- DaimlerChrysler, Ford
Motor Company and General Motors Corporation.  For more information, contact
Doug Goudie, Automotive Trade Policy Council, 1660 L Street, N.W. Suite 515,
Washington, DC 20036, goudied@ix.netcom.com