http://www.mlive.com/auto/index.ssf/2011/09/stabenow_china_violating_trade.htmlThe Michigan Democrat today called on U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk to investigate
a report by the New York Times indicating the Chinese government is pressuring GM to reveal core Volt technology before it can qualify for subsidies, a demand experts say may be a violation of World Trade Organization rules.
"We must demand that China does not engage in action which amounts to the theft of American-made technologies. If China refuses, I urge to you to take appropriate WTO action to stop this outrage."
GM spent millions developing the Volt's extended-range plug-in technology, and China represents a massive new market that could spur sluggish sales. But
the automaker continues to fight pressure to reveal trade secrets in exchange for subsidies similar to those that Asian manufacturers qualify for in the U.S.Other automakers are interested in selling their advanced-technology vehicles in China, according to the Times, but have held off for similar reasons. However,
a Ford executive told the newspaper the company intends to give in to China's demand when it is ready to launch an electric vehicle there.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(here's the New York Times article referenced above.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/business/global/gm-aims-the-volt-at-china-but-chinese-want-its-secrets.html?_r=1&pagewanted=allHybrid in a Trade Squeeze
The Chinese government is refusing to let the Volt qualify for subsidies totaling up to $19,300 a car unless G.M. agrees to transfer the engineering secrets for one of the Volt’s three main technologies to a joint venture in China with a Chinese automaker, G.M. officials said. Some international trade experts said China would risk violating World Trade Organization rules if it imposed that requirement.
The consumer subsidies in question are considered crucial for helping electric and hybrid vehicles catch on in China, which became the world’s largest car market in 2009. The government has made a priority of moving beyond cars that burn fossil fuels and emit polluting exhaust. At an industry conference here in this port city near Beijing over the weekend, government officials called for Chinese automakers to put new emphasis on producing more fuel-efficient and technologically advanced models, including gasoline-electric hybrids and all-electric cars.
Right now, the subsidies are available for electric cars made by Chinese automakers, like the e6 made by BYD, giving them a huge competitive advantage.
The Volt, if G.M. proceeds with plans to begin selling it in China by year’s end, will be the first mass-market predominantly electric car imported to China by a foreign manufacturer.Japanese and European automakers in particular have held back for fear of losing trade secrets if they are forced to share their newest technologies with Chinese companies. The Volt would be the pioneer, with the subsidy issue shaping up as a crucial test case.
G.M.’s arch rival, Ford, already intends to accede to the Chinese demand, a Ford executive said.At least five trade experts said that Chinese government policies making it uneconomical to sell an imported electric car in China without transferring technology could violate rules of the World Trade Organization, of which China is a member.
“
The rules do not allow a country to impose a requirement affecting the internal sale, distribution or purchase of a product in a way that favors its own product over imports,” said Carolyn B. Gleason, a partner at McDermott Will & Emery in Washington and longtime specialist in W.T.O. cases.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/business/global/gm-aims-the-volt-at-china-but-chinese-want-its-secrets.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
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