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Washington, D.C.-Congressman Dale E. Kildee (D-MI) introduced a resolution, House Concurrent Resolution 366, today to discourage the Bush Administration from engaging in bilateral trade agreements with Thailand that would eliminate or reduce tariffs on imported pickup trucks. The Bush Administration plans to proceed this year with negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement with Thailand that could jeopardize the U.S. automobile industry. The bipartisan resolution aims at preventing the loss of jobs for tens of thousands of American workers who are currently employed in pickup truck parts and assembly plants across the country.
“The Bush Administration is endangering the jobs of U.S. autoworkers and the future of the American auto industry by considering harmful trade negotiations with Thailand that would flood U.S. markets with foreign pickup trucks,” said Kildee. “Lifting the tariff on imported pickup trucks from Thailand would only exacerbate the damage that was already done to the U.S. auto industry when NAFTA eliminated the tariff on imported pickup trucks from Mexico. We must scrutinize any proposal to reduce or eliminate tariffs on foreign auto imports before more damage is done to the U.S. automobile industry.”
The Kildee resolution urges the President to refrain from negotiations that would provide Thailand with greater access to critical segments of the U.S. automobile market through the reduction or elimination of the tariff on imported pickup trucks. Congressman Kildee is concerned that Japan, South Korea, India and other major producing countries would take advantage of this opportunity to flood the U.S. automobile market with unrestricted foreign products through their operations in Thailand. Kildee also believes that all major automobile producing nations should be included in any negotiations regarding changes in automobile tariffs. The UAW strongly supports the Kildee resolution.
Congressman Kildee has been a strong opponent of NAFTA, CAFTA and other Free Trade Agreements that abandon American workers, while exploiting foreign labor and weakening environmental standards in other countries. However, Kildee does support trade agreements that protect American jobs and provide a better quality of life for workers inside the United States. |
