Cheap Indian cars coming, warns Canadian minister
Toronto: Nano, Tatas’ small car with a price tag of just $2,500, is already being viewed as a threat to the North America auto market even before its launch in India.
Canadian Industry Minister Jim Prestice gave this warning Wednesday when he said that unless steps were taken to cuts costs and delays in cross-border movement of auto parts, North American-produced vehicles will be outpriced by Indian and Chinese vehicles in their own market very soon.

“Not long from now, we will see the first Chinese - or Indian - manufactured vehicles arrive on North American shores, ready to be sold to eager consumers. These vehicles will have encountered a border delay only once,” Prentice told the Council of the Americas in Washington.

In the post 9/11 world, he said, despite the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) businesses in Canada, Mexico and the US were suffering because of “the burden of new measures to enhance security, as well as more rigorous enforcement of existing rules.

“This means that businesses in all three countries are facing longer delays, higher inspection rates, additional fees, and more layers of security when they can afford it least.”

He said the costs and delays of an automobile part as it travels across national borders on its way to final assembly added several hundred dollars to the price of a North American-built vehicle.

Describing these problems as a `two-headed monster’, the minister said, “We want security and prosperity. Instead, we make it more difficult to have either. Not only do we hamper the legitimate trade and travel that provide the foundation for North America’s prosperity, but we are also clearly misallocating resources.

“The dollars, hours and resources spent investigating legitimate travel and trade are dollars, hours and resources that would be better spent targeting the areas of highest risk.”

The unveiling of Nano a few months ago made headlines in Canada, with dealers and buyers expressing interest in the world’s cheapest car.

Yes, we Americans are priceless; I guess that’s why they keep playing that commercial because we get it. As American jobs continue to be outsourced and American industries continues to lay off workers and shut down factories, you would think that the albatross being built on the U.S. Mexico boarder would provide some American industry jobs. Think again because that’s not the way this administration works. In the continual slap down of American workers and American industry the Department of Homeland Security has purchased steel from China to build the border fence.

You would think all the recalls from China would be reason enough not to purchase from China. What’s far more insulting is that DHS waived the “buy America” rule.

• House members allied with the domestic steel industry blasted the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Thursday for building a fence on the Mexican border with Chinese steel.

• “By allowing the use of Chinese pipe [a type of steel], DHS is allowing the U.S. taxpayer to subsidize Chinese production at the expense of the American workers,” Rep. Phil English (R-Pa.) said at a press conference. “This is completely unacceptable.”

• “This is outrageous, it’s offensive and it’s unacceptable,” charged Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.).

• English displayed photos of a portion of the border fence from San Luis, Ariz., that shows pipes marked “China” holding the border fence in place. He said DHS’s Office of Congressional Affairs had indicated it had waived the so-called Buy American rules in order to use the Chinese pipe and tube. The rules normally require the use of U.S. steel in such projects.

• The Office of Public Affairs referred questions to Customs Border Protection, which did not respond by press time.

• GOP presidential hopeful Rep. Duncan Hunter (Calif.), who authored a bill signed into law last year mandating 850 miles of fence along the border, said DHS should have gone to U.S. producers to procure any necessary steel or pipe.

• “The Department of Homeland Security has, the last time I checked, $800 million cash on hand available to build the border fence. So they don’t have to go and get cut-rate deals to build the border fence,” Hunter said. U.S. pipe makers can “easily” supply the products necessary for the fence, Hunter insisted.

• The lawmakers said they did not know if there was a bidding process that led to the use of the Chinese goods. They also said they were unaware if any U.S. companies bid for contracts related to the fence but were turned down.

• Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-Ind.) said he was concerned about the safety of Chinese steel. However, when pressed, he and other lawmakers could not cite any specific safety problems that might result from the use of foreign pipe in a fence. Visclosky did note other safety issues that have recently come up with toys from China, while English said the use of Chinese inputs in U.S. infrastructure prompts broader concerns.

• Members of the congressional steel caucus have invited DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff to testify at an Oct. 31 hearing on possible safety issues regarding Chinese pipe.