61% of Cash for Clunkers sales foreign, but check out how they return the favor

[The Tony Show]

As the thread title states, studies are showing that over 60% of the vehicles sold under the Car Allowance Rebate System (commonly referred to as "Cash for Clunkers") were of foreign make, mostly Japanese and Korean. It is true that the program still benefited US based retailers and builders of said foreign cars, but in the end the money still flows into a foreign country.

Several US lawmakers had pushed for a "Buy American" clause in the bill that would only offer the rebate on cars built by US owned companies, but that got killed since it would violate international trade laws. Well, after all us taxpayers chipped in $2.8 BILLION dollars to give companies like Toyota and Hyundai a huge sales boost, the Japanese and Korean Governments decided that it was a good time to institute a similar c4c program in their own countries. The catch? The careful wording of the offer basically excludes American cars.

Originally Posted by Freep

WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- A U.S. Senate Democrat on Friday accused Japan and South Korea of instituting "cash for clunkers" incentive programs that discriminate against U.S.-made cars, as international debate over trade protectionism intensified ahead of a Group of 20 nations summit in Pittsburgh.


The accusation by Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan comes a week after President Barack Obama drew criticism from China for imposing steep import duties on Chinese tires. That move heightened fears of a pending trade war.


In a letter to Obama on Friday, Stabenow, a leading Capitol Hill ally of Detroit auto makers, said the recently concluded "cash for clunkers" program in the U.S. was designed in accordance with international trade agreements. The program was initially drafted in Congress to apply to only North American- manufactured cars, raising trade concerns. Stabenow acknowledged that she and others preferred the "Buy America" version of the legislation but that ultimately "we followed the law."


"That is why it is so outrageous that Japan and Korea would have the audacity to implement similar programs that discriminate against American automakers," Stabenow said.


She didn't accuse Japan and South Korea of outright banning U.S.-made vehicles from being eligible for "clunkers" assistance in those countries. Instead, she said, regulations and non-tariff barriers effectively prevent most U.S.-made cars from being eligible.


The "clunkers" program in Japan, she said, disallows the participation of vehicles with a certification commonly used by importers, including U.S. auto manufacturers.


In South Korea, she said, non-tariff trade barriers that effectively cap all foreign imports at 5% mean that U.S. cars are essentially disqualified from the program there.

The American taxpayers foot the bill for a huge sales boost to Japanese and Korean owned companies, and they return the favor by blocking American cars from their own incentive programs. Nice.

[DILLIGAF]

No surprise,the real problem is the people buying the foreign cars.Or should I call them voters.Or idiots.>3 years 240 days or so left,we can make it!

[orconn]

The Japanese and Korean governments don't need to descriminate, the buying public in those countries wouldn't chose U.S. cars that don't work well in their driving environment anyway.

[cooncat]

I have a personal problem with buying a japanese or Korean car. Granted some of them are built here in the states, but as you said Tony, the ultimate doller goes overseas. My brother who is a mechanic will not buy american and claims them as junk. I love him dearly, but he is of one opinion. I am very proud of driving my american Cadillac.

[Sandy]

I, and my now in heaven family (parents, Aunts, Uncles, etc...) would never ever buy anything BUT an American car, all the way back to 1950! But today....buyers are idiots that cannot think past the tip of their nose. It's all about ME ME ME ME ME and not what's good for ME AND MY COUNTRY! It makes me sick! If a car is waiting to exit a parking lot or a side street, I will always be the one to stop & motion for them to go ahead of me and I am always the one to do that.
Well
that is if it's made by GM, Ford or Chrysler. Otherwise, let a HonDUH let 'ya out, there should be one coming along....soon.

[Ranger]

Why am I not surprised and why will I not be surprised when we get slapped in the face when we complain about it? And why will I not be surprised when we just accept it with out retaliation?

I proudly add my family to those who will not buy "foreign". My oldest daughter is getting married in Nov. so I could loose (or inherit) one there (he already drives one).

[Jesda]

I favor consumer choice and international competition, but government money used to buy cars from overseas corporations is ABSOLUTELY ABSURD.

[MacMuse]

WOW! 40% of the Cash-for-Clunkers purchases were American!?! That's fantastic since far less than 40% of the models eligible for purchase under C4C were American. That means Americans went out of their way to buy American under the program. Too bad Buick & Cadillac don't make a sedan eligible for C4C (according to the CARS web site), wonder how much better they would have done if they had one to sell that met the minimum 22MPG fuel requirements and sub $45K price tag.

[Caddyshack100]

I cannot picture Japan having any clunkers, I thought their laws made sure of that, I gues those Datsun B210 and Fairladys will have to be retired

[The Tony Show]

There weren't that many "clunkers" traded in here, either. Most people with a bonafide heap are not within $3,500 of buying a brand new car.

[RightTurn]

Originally Posted by Jesda

I favor consumer choice and international competition, but government money used to buy cars from overseas corporations is ABSOLUTELY ABSURD.

[Vinsanity]

Originally Posted by MacMuse

WOW! 40% of the Cash-for-Clunkers purchases were American!?! That's fantastic since far less than 40% of the models eligible for purchase under C4C were American. That means Americans went out of their way to buy American under the program. Too bad Buick & Cadillac don't make a sedan eligible for C4C (according to the CARS web site), wonder how much better they would have done if they had one to sell that met the minimum 22MPG fuel requirements and sub $45K price tag.

[Cream_Devil_91]

I hope everyone knows that Cash for Clunkers has been around for awhile, since at least 1996, maybe earlier...this whole deal wasn't just thought up by the current administration. It's amusing to hear those people rant who believe so...

Does "Accelerated Vehicle Retirement" (AVR) sound familiar to anyone?

They've been getting ready for this sort of thing for awhile, nothing new really...

[LS1Mike]

Originally Posted by Jesda

I favor consumer choice and international competition, but government money used to buy cars from overseas corporations is ABSOLUTELY ABSURD.

I agree, not to mention it acutally did get rid of some good cheap used cars for folks of a lower income.
Having said that I think most folks here know how I feel about import name plate cars...I will never own one.

[AMGoff]

I can't quite figure out why so many people are upset over this... I mean - I know the superficial reason why some people are, but I guess I just can't understand why they would be surprised by such a thing. First of all, we've had a massive trade deficit in this country for quite some time now so that's nothing new and as far as the particulars of this story are concerned... It appears that South Korea hasn't changed any of it's long-biased automotive regulations/tariffs and Japan... Well... Japan is going to continue doing whatever Japan can to succeed just short of a full-blown military expedition against us or one of our allies because we dropped two nuclear bombs on them 60-some years ago... and we won't say boo-hoo about almost anything they do because, well - we dropped two nuclear bombs on them 60-some years ago.

We haven't become and still remain the world's largest marketplace for no reason... and for better or worse, a lot of that has to do with our very open (ie - sometimes very one-sided) trade policies. And why is that exactly? To please Mr. and Mrs. Joe American Consumer. A lot of people like to talk about "buying American," yet have little clue as to how much of their money ends up overseas. On the obverse, if all of the sudden this country introduced protective trade policies... Most of those same people would be crying about how expensive things are and how the government is limiting their market choices.

Despite any modern, popular notion in this country... You really can't have your cake and eat it too.