So today again I heard a union leader on the radio saying that US car makers are failing because other countries, specifically Korea, Japan and Europe have various rules that prevent importing US-made cars. Obviously the unions like to point fingers so I'd like to know specifically what are these rules in Japan, Korea and Europe, and are they really to blame, or is it mostly that US carmakers don't make stuff good enough for sale in a country where half the people feel obligated to "buy American".

 

i thought its because other countries tax the shit out of imports

 

Here's what I have learned, living my life (about 40%) outside the US:

Japan puts an import tax on everything (island nation, go figure). So, the cost of certain vehicles here is something tantamount to getting it from Long Dong Silver. Here are some price quotes, compare them to the US (dollar approximate):

Audi A4 w/3.2L, Quattro: $65,900

Chrysler 300C, 3.5L: $50,344 (Hemi = $66,647)

Chrysler PT Cruiser (starting price): $29,067.00


Now, if this does not ring of protectionism, I don't know what does. But for comparison, here's the price for something Japanese that would be comparable:

Subaru Legacy GT(2.0L Turbo): $31,600 3.0R: $35,478

Toyota Crown (3.5L): $38,736

Honda Civic (1.8L): $20,392

I was talking with some people in Helsinki, Finland a few years back about this and they told me that for them it is worse. Finland levies a 100% tax on vehicles that have no Scandinavian origin. So a Honda Accord is double the price of what it would cost in Europe. Now, a Volvo/Saab/Skoda (even a Porsche Boxster) have some origin in Scandinavia, and those have a very low to no import tariff.

In Norway, a Toyota RAV4 cost approximately $50,000. (When I was there, I asked one of the guys I was working with what his cost). Wow.

Does this illustrate the point? Protectionist market practices are the norm everywhere, except the US.

 

^^^ nice info