Big 3 Auto Makers to Seek Punitive Duties on Imports

Detroit’s Big Three auto makers have told U.S. trade officials that they intend to seek punitive duties on all imported cars, according to a report published today.

In effect, they are asking the new Administration of President Clinton to impose taxes that could add thousands of dollars to the sticker prices of imported Japanese and European cars, the New York Times reported in its Tuesday editions, quoting a federal official who insisted on anonymity.

The Times said the U.S. auto makers will charge that Japanese and European manufacturers are violating federal law by selling cars for less in the United States than they charge in their home markets.

It quoted the unidentified official as saying the auto makers hope to file their complaints at the Commerce Department within two to three weeks.

The newspaper said the case will easily be the biggest of its kind ever filed in the United States, covering as it will almost all of the country’s $45 billion worth of annual passenger-vehicle imports.

Commenting on the report, Chrysler spokesman John Guiniven said the big three car makers--also including General Motors and Ford--have been investigating Japanese price policies “on an ongoing basis” since the Bush Administration ruled that Japanese manufacturers were not harming Detroit by dumping minivans into the U.S. market.