FCA Proposes a Merger with Renault

wilber1 wrote:


Look, a 25% tariff adds 25% to the cost of an imported vehicle, period. What is good for the companies that are represented by the UAW is good for its members. They are one and the same.

A 25% tariff may add 25% to the cost of goods, but that does mean it puts domestic makes at a 25% "advantage" like you keep claiming. Period.

Let me put it in simple terms one more time.....

Lets say due to labor costs, regulation, pensions, healthcare, and other factors a truck built by a US manufacturers costs $35,000. Since many countries(like Thailand, Indonesia, and Brazil) where these small trucks are being built do not have to abide by the same regulations and have weaker currency to our dollar, it only costs them $30,000 to build the same truck and ship it to the US. Now lets slap on the 25% chicken tax and that brings the cost for the foreign made truck to $37,500 while the US made truck remains at $35,000. That is only a 7.4% advantage, not a 25% advantage.

I think you are still stuck on the notion that light trucks were added to the chicken tax by the UAW to protect only the US truck makes from competition. This is completely and utterly false. The UAW did not and still does not care who was making the trucks(foreign or domestic) as long as it was being done on US soil, and preferably with UAW workers. So as far as being "good for it's members", those members can be Suzuki, Toyota, Ram, Honda, Ford, Mitsubishi, GM, VW, are any other manufacturer as long as they build their trucks on US soil by UAW workers. So the notion that the UAW did it to protect only US truck makes is also completely false.

wilber1 wrote:
Out of one side of your mouth you say the tariff is to protect American jobs and out of the other side you say it doesn’t make any difference to the prices the companies can charge as if company earnings have no bearing on what they can pay employees. Make up your mind.

The tariff was negotiated by the UAW to protect American jobs. That is a fact. As far as price, where did I say it doesn't make any difference in price other than the fact that the price went up when Toyota and Nissan started making trucks in the US and not paying the chicken tax versus making them overseas and paying the chicken tax, not down. I showed you this data with factual numbers.

wilber1 wrote:
The tax actually increases the profit margins of Toyota and Nissan because they have a protected market using non union labour in right to work states.

If you can claim this then show me the numbers. While you are at it, since you are also claiming that the lack of truck competition(which is hilarious) in the US truck market allowed the domestic truck makes to charge more for their trucks, why don't you go ahead and show me the numbers that are bringing you to that conclusion as well.