US carmakers warn on Thailand, S.Korea trade talks

WASHINGTON, Feb 17 (Reuters) - The Big Three U.S. automakers are worried about the harm possible free trade agreements with Thailand and South Korea could do to their industry in the United States, the head of the carmakers' trade council said on Friday.

Stephen Collins told a hearing set up by U.S. Senate Democrats that Japanese automakers had essentially moved their entire production of pickup trucks from Japan to Thailand.

"This means that when the U.S. sits down with their Thai counterparts, it is not Thailand alone asking for U.S. automotive tariffs to be reduced -- it is the Japanese auto industry," Collins said.

"This is very threatening to the pickup truck industry in the United States," he said.

Collins is president of the Automotive Trade Policy Council in Washington, an association that represents the interests of General Motors Corp. , Ford Motor Co. , and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler unit on issues of international trade and economic policy.

He spoke at a Democratic Policy Committee hearing on the impact of U.S. trade policy on the U.S. automotive industry.

The United States and Thailand began negotiations on a free trade agreement in July 2004, and have held several rounds of talks. Many Thai farmers and businesses are wary of such a pact, which would tear down trade barriers between the two countries.

Collins also warned about trade talks with South Korea, saying that country had so far made it "nearly impossible" for any foreign company to be successful in its domestic market. He noted its total import share of all foreign autos was just 2 percent.

"I'm afraid to say our industry has had a very sour and negative experience over the last decade with Korea," Collins said.

Neena Moorjani, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Trade Representative's office, said the United States would push hard in the negotiations with South Korea and Thailand for those countries to open their market to more U.S. autos.

"We recognize the sensitivity of this issue and will work closely with the U.S. auto industry, its workers, and Congress as we develop proposals on auto-related issues for these FTAs (free trade agreements) and seek to enhance access to these and other markets for U.S. automakers," she said.

Collins said one thing the U.S. government could do immediately to shore up the competitiveness of its industries would be to stop "unfair currency manipulation by Japan, Korea and other trading partners".

Collins said he was "hoping to see more public action from the (Bush) administration to counter this multiyear effort by Japan" to manipulate its currency.

He said industry representatives who met senior administration officials recently believed they understood the problem.

A weaker yen is a boon to Japan's exporters. U.S. automakers are strugggling to compete with Toyota Motor Corp. , which is poised to unseat GM as the world's largest carmaker.

Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of Reuters Limited

Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Pte Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - Community - Help