[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 153 (Wednesday, October 30, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1611]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   THE AMERICAN AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY AND THE TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GENE GREEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 30, 2013

  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the 
three million Americans whose jobs are directly or indirectly connected 
to our nation's domestic automotive industry and the importance of our 
trade negotiators to address longstanding concerns with Japan's closed 
auto market.
  This spring, the government of Japan announced it was going to join 
the United States and ten other Pacific Rim nations in negotiations in 
the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a proposed comprehensive and high-
standard free trade agreement with the aim of liberalizing nearly all 
goods and services within the member countries.
  I am a strong proponent of increasing American exports. Exports are 
vital to expanding our economy, providing new opportunities for our 
nation's industries and entrepreneurs, and growing the number of well-
paying, middle class jobs that are the backbone of our nation's 
strength.
  Nevertheless, I have very strong reservations with Japan's 
longstanding barriers for auto exporters into its market. Japan has the 
third largest auto market in the world. At the same time, it ranks last 
among all advanced economies in terms of auto market import penetration 
at under six percent.
  The barriers Japan places on auto imports are many and longstanding, 
including currency manipulation, onerous certification and regulatory 
standards, and anti-competitive networks between Japanese automakers, 
dealers, and parts suppliers, better known as the kieretsu system.
  It is imperative that the Administration and this Congress take 
action to ensure that Japan will open its auto market to American-made 
cars and trucks before lowering our tariffs and opening our market even 
more to Japanese auto imports.
  There are several protections our negotiators should secure from our 
Japanese allies before finalizing this trade deal, including strong and 
enforceable currency disciplines aimed at preventing TPP countries from 
using currency to gain a competitive advantage, seeing to it that 
Japanese automakers fully honor internationally recognized labor 
standards and allow workers to organize and collectively bargain, and 
apply strong and effective tariff ``snapbacks'' that will come into 
force in the event of a trade violation.
  Congress should also act by passing the Currency Reform for Fair 
Trade Act, which I have proudly co-sponsored for the past three 
Congresses, and would give the Treasury Department and other federal 
agencies additional tools to combat currency manipulation.
  I fear that our domestic auto manufacturers and the hundreds of 
thousands of American families whose livelihoods rely on our auto 
industry will be gravely harmed if the Administration and Congress 
allow our tariffs on Japanese autos to be lowered even further without 
giving equal access to American-made cars and trucks.
  The well-respected Center for Automotive Research found last year 
that Japan's inclusion in TPP, combined with the on-going currency 
manipulation Japan has been doing, would result in the loss of 225,000 
cars and trucks being made in the U.S. and the loss of nearly 100,000 
American jobs.
  Failing to open Japan's auto market will only increase our trade 
deficit, which now stands at $76 billion a year, with $53 billion of 
the deficit comes from autos alone.
  Mr. Speaker, it is our duty, as the elected representatives of the 
American people, to make sure that trade with Japan is truly two-way 
and Japan will open its markets to American products as we've opened 
our markets to their imports.

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