The Detroit News reports that 79 House members sent a letter to US President Obama, keen to bring his awareness (again) to the huge contributions made to the country’s economy by the adopted Japanese automakers – note, though, that none of the representatives that signed the letter were from Michigan.
The letter reads: “Congress and the administration must continue to foster a business climate that promotes the United States as a premier location for global companies to build, sell and export their products.”
One of its two authors, Mississippi representative Alan Nunnelee, added that “We wanted to remind the president of the significant contributions these automakers and dealers make to our nation’s economy each day,” and mentioned the creation of thousands of jobs in his home state.
The 79 members that put their signature on the letter want to smooth the transition into existence of a 12 country trade treaty (the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TTP) encompassing Australia, Canada, Japan, Malaysia and Mexico as the major players (detailed below), and others like Singapore as major export markets. It promises to open the US up to yet more imports, while at the same time allowing it and the other members to export more of what they have and bring in more of what they need, all at better tariffs.
Still, it’s not a done deal, as the same source reports that “Earlier this month, the 12 nations released a statement on the talks, but unlike prior communications, didn’t say they plan to reach a deal by the end of the year.”
Whether or not they are all keen on the idea, the US is now intrinsically linked with Toyota, Honda and Nissan all of which have extensive manufacturing, parts supply chain and dealership networks currently active in the States, which account for a the creation of a reported 419,000 jobs nation-wide. The number is so large, because for the forty-odd years that the Japanese companies in question have been present in the States, they have invested $47.1 / €34.4 billion and have built a total of 29 plants.
By Andrei Nedelea
Story References: Detroitnews
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