Beginning of a Trade War with the World?

[sunskyfan]

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/tra...-economic-war/

„Toyota’s Woes Seen As Warning Sign For Foreign Firms In U.S.
WASHINGTON (Nikkei)–The midterm elections this coming November may be one reason why the U.S. government and Congress have taken a hard-line stance on Toyota Motor Corp. (7203) over vehicle defects.

Could this be the opening salvo of a major trade war?

[Ghent12]

Re: Beginning of a Trade War with the World?

Could this be the opening salvo of a major trade war?

No, of course not. This is all for public safety, right? :rolleyes:

[leegs]

Re: Beginning of a Trade War with the World?

I don't think so. For one thing many or most of these cars are made here. I think its all just grandstanding and fearmongering - business as usual.

[sunskyfan]

Re: Beginning of a Trade War with the World?

And so far Toyota has suspended production of all cars here. Kind of like saying ... "give us trouble ... we'll move the jobs back to Japan."

[dbarberic]

Re: Beginning of a Trade War with the World?

Even with all the other automotive safety issues (rolling Explorers, sudden accelleration Audi's, exploding Pintos) I have never seen a Secretary of Transportation come out and tell the public not to drive a certain brand of automobile, only to later retract the statement.

The media and the politicians are jumping all over Toyota, when Ford is recalling their own hybrids for the same brake problem and the Chevy Cobalt is being investigated for 1,132 complaints of power steering failure.

IMHO, something is going on and it is bigger than mechanical issues on the cars. What it is, I don't know. Maybe the administration is trying to kick-start the American automotive industry to pump job numbers before the fall. Maybe Japan did not buy enough T-Bills at the last auction. Maybe it is easy to kick a dog while he's down to score "public safety" points with the voting public. Who knows....

I have not seen this much excitement in DC since the evil oil speculators.

[GRG55]

Re: Beginning of a Trade War with the World?

Even with all the other automotive safety issues (rolling Explorers, sudden accelleration Audi's, exploding Pintos) I have never seen a Secretary of Transportation come out and tell the public not to drive a certain brand of automobile, only to later retract the statement.

The media and the politicians are jumping all over Toyota, when Ford is recalling their own hybrids for the same brake problem and the Chevy Cobalt is being investigated for 1,132 complaints of power steering failure.

IMHO, something is going on and it is bigger than mechanical issues on the cars. What it is, I don't know. Maybe the administration is trying to kick-start the American automotive industry to pump job numbers before the fall. Maybe Japan did not buy enough T-Bills at the last auction. Maybe it is easy to kick a dog while he's down to score "public safety" points with the voting public. Who knows....

I have not seen this much excitement in DC since the evil oil speculators.

Hard not to notice the unusual behaviour from the fearless leader class...

http://www.itulip.com/forums/showthr...ighlight=Kyota

[KGW]

Re: Beginning of a Trade War with the World?

Ever hear of Okinawa or Guam?

[GRG55]

Re: Beginning of a Trade War with the World?

Ever hear of Okinawa or Guam?

Yup...;)

http://www.itulip.com/forums/showthr...26577#poststop

[lakedaemonian]

Re: Beginning of a Trade War with the World?

I'm kinda thinking more along the lines of barriers to credit than barriers to trade.

[flintlock]

Re: Beginning of a Trade War with the World?

I think it is the usual Media piling on. They smell blood. The media loves to jump on one story and run with it till it's dead. It's no story when a Ford has these issues. It's only a story because we are not used to seeing any chinks in the Toyota armor. Unintended acceleration really gets people's attention.

As far as the transportation secretary getting involved, who knows. Politics no doubt, but what is the goal? Most likely, giving a boost to Government Motors is at least part of the reason. Or... maybe Toyota really did handle this badly and needed to be prodded a bit.

[dbarberic]

Re: Beginning of a Trade War with the World?

This seems to be logicial explanation.

What's Behind the Toyota Bashing? Feb. 12, 2010 (EIRNS)—Japanese and U.S. sources have indicated to EIR that the Toyota recall of millions of cars (mostly in the U.S.A.), and the massive media campaign to demonize Toyota, may be at least in part the result of a conscious effort to undermine, or even destroy, Toyota's U.S. operations, for refusing to support efforts to bailout worthless debt instruments. Japanese sources said that it was widely believed by knowledgeable people in Japan that there is an effort to undermine Toyota, but that the Japanese press won't report it. Today, however, the Korea Herald reported it: The world's most dominant and profitable automaker's recall of over 8.5 million cars has spiraled out of control. At first, it seemed to be a normal recall of defective cars. But the crisis Toyota Motor Corp. faces has surpassed the purely 'business' level to involve political and geopolitical dimensions. Many observers suspect something other than safety concerns behind the harsh response of the United States to Toyota's recall. To former Kia Motors chairman Kim Sun-hong, the U.S. reaction to the Toyota problem is an act of 'killing the chickens to scare the monkeys.' The Herald explains this Chinese proverb as a reference to the cruel yet effective tactic of killing one to tame a hundred: As monkeys misbehave in the treetops, annoyed humans violently kill chickens in front of the monkeys. From fear, the monkeys get silent and tamed. The former Kia chairman told the Herald that Toyota has had many recalls, which are a normal and responsible thing among all auto companies. However, said Kim, in the eyes of certain American financial interests, "Toyota has crossed the line that it should not have crossed." Sources told EIR that the "line" being referred to was that Toyota pulled out of joint ventures with General Motors last year, when U.S. interests were asking Toyota to help bail them out (referring to bailing out huge amounts of worthless financial derivatives and other speculative financial instruments that GMAC got stuck with in its financial speculative activity). Founded to finance motor vehicles sales, GMAC Financial Services is reportedly one of the world's largest financial services companies, having expanded into financial services, including banking, mortgages, investing, and insurance. GM now only owns 6.7% of GMAC Financial Services, while the hedge fund Cerberus owns about 15%, and over 56% is owned by the U.S. Treasury, as the result of the U.S. government bailout. Not only has the U.S. press run, on a daily basis, exaggerated and selective reports on the supposed dangers of Toyota cars (for years recognized as among the safest and most solidly constructed cars in the world), but the Wall Street Journal even ran a lead story blatantly advising that people sell their Toyota stock. Kim added: The message that Washington wants to send through the Toyota recall crisis is that other companies could also be put into such a quandary. The U.S. government wants its trading partners to heed the warning. The Herald reports that many observers in Japan seem to echo Kim's view.

[thriftyandboringinohio]

Re: Beginning of a Trade War with the World?

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/tra...-economic-war/


Could this be the opening salvo of a major trade war?

I don't think so, but I continue to advocate one. IMHO much of globalization amounts to protecting their favorite industries at the expense of ours. Time to turn the tables, enough is enough.

[don]

Re: Beginning of a Trade War with the World?

This seems to be logicial explanation.

So if this is more or less the real cause, and millions of Americans have been scared shitless to drive their cars, does that serve as our current, working definition of sociopathic behavior?

[sunskyfan]

Re: Beginning of a Trade War with the World?

Sure smells like the first shots of a trade war to me.

Internal Toyota documents derided the Obama administration and Democratic Congress as “activist” and “not industry friendly," ........

Upwards of 8 million cars have been recalled in the U.S. and worldwide, amid reports of Toyota's vehicles accelerating rapidly. The problems have turned political, as the company has shuttered some American factories, potentially resulting in layoffs.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories...#ixzz0gGphiV6O

[bart]

Re: Beginning of a Trade War with the World?

Perhaps overly simplistic, but it sure does speak volumes to me: