Whereas the President of the United States approved on
June 24, 2009, the United States Consumer Assistance to Recycle and
Save
(CARS) Act to jumpstart auto sales and increase motor fuel savings
nationwide by providing incentives to registered owners of high polluting
automobiles and replace such automobiles with new fuel efficient and less
polluting automobiles, otherwise referred to as the Cash for Clunkers
Program
;
Whereas the U.S. CARS program was launched by the U.S.
Department of Transportation on July 27, 2009, with an initial appropriation of
$1 billion and extended on August 6, 2009, with an additional sum of $2
billion;
Whereas when it ended on August 25, 2009, a total of
677,842 new vehicles were incentivized and purchased through the program, all
of which improved the U.S. economy and provided jobs in the automobile
industry;
Whereas, according to the U.S. Department of
Transportation data, the share of transactions by manufacturers of the total
number of new vehicles incentivized included: 120,507 Toyotas, 90,135 Fords,
87,585 Hondas, 86,354 Chevrolets, 58,700 Nissans, 48,780 Hyundais, 24,119
Dodges, 16,144 Mazdas, 12,418 Volkswagens, 9,033 Chryslers, and 3,663 Lexuses,
for a total of over 319,000 Japanese brand automobiles, which clearly
demonstrates that the U.S. Cash for Clunkers
program was open to
all automobile manufacturers doing business in the U.S.;
Whereas the Japanese Government in April 2009, as part of
its economic crisis measures
, adopted as its version of the U.S.
CARS program an Eco-friendly Vehicle
program, which the Japanese
Auto Dealer Association on April 10, 2009, described as a subsidy to achieve
effective environmental and economic measures by promoting purchase of new
vehicles with high levels of environmental performance, leading to stimulation
of the Japanese auto industry;
Whereas the Japanese Government is planning to extend the
current Japanese automobile scrappage and subsidy program as early as January
2010;
Whereas, unlike the U.S. CARS program of 2009, the current
Japanese Eco-friendly Vehicle Purchase Program is not open and available to all
imports of U.S. automobile manufacturers because the Japanese program is only
available to automobile models that use a full Government procedure called
Type Approval
of each model that generates an official fuel
economy rating;
Whereas as U.S. automobile importers use a more cost
efficient Preferred Handling Procedure (PHP), which is accepted by the Japanese
Government for imported vehicles sold in Japan;
Whereas even though many U.S. imported automobiles have
comparable or better fuel efficiency than Japanese vehicles, they do not
qualify for the Eco-friendly Vehicle Purchase Program;
Whereas the House of Representatives strongly believes
that the current Japanese Government's Eco-friendly Vehicle program is unfair
and discriminatory in its implementation and its failure to apply to low volume
automobile imports of U.S. automobile manufacturers by excluding fuel efficient
U.S.-made automobiles that meet the same fuel economy requirements of the
United States that automobiles of Japanese manufacturers met in 2009 under the
U.S. Cash for Clunkers program in qualifying for U.S. incentives for their
automobiles; and
Whereas such exclusion amounts to the Japanese Government
engaging in unfair and discriminatory practices contrary to international
treaty requirements of the World Trade Organization: Now therefore, be
it
That it is the sense of the House of
Representatives that—
(1)the President
shall direct the United States Trade Representative with support, assistance,
and cooperation of the Secretary of State, Secretary of Transportation, and as
appropriate, other Federal agencies to immediately initiate discussions with
the Government of Japan to identify and remedy violations of Japan's trade
obligations under applicable World Trade Organization requirements for its
discriminatory policies and practices in regards to not applying incentives for
United States automotive imports under Japan's Eco-friendly Vehicle Purchase
Program, and if no adequate relief is promptly forthcoming to file appropriate
measures and complaints to initiate dispute resolution actions under authority
of the World Trade Organization;
(2)any such action
should include a detailed analysis of the financial costs and other impacts on
the economy of the United States which were incurred by the implementation of
the U.S. CARS incentives program in regards to Japanese manufactured
automobiles that received subsidies; and
(3)the Secretary of
State with the cooperation and assistance of the Secretary of Transportation,
the United States Trade Representative, and other relevant Federal officials
should take immediately diplomatic and other measures to ensure that any
extension by the Japanese Government of the Eco-friendly Vehicle Program is
fair and not discriminatory in regard to U.S. manufactured automobile imports
to Japan.
2.The
Clerk of the House of Representatives shall transmit a copy of this resolution
to the President.