Time for some protectionism

[Gob]

THE federal government is pushing back against rising protectionist sentiment amid a clamour from across the political spectrum for measures to do more to protect local manufacturing.

With anger especially focused on the mining sector and its use of Chinese steel for the billions it is spending on construction, Julia Gillard warned her own restive caucus yesterday the government must not be perceived as anti-foreign investment.

However, the government hinted it might act amid evidence Australian firms were being blocked from competing for mining work. ''I'm a bit disturbed by that so I'm going to examine those claims,'' the Treasurer, Wayne Swan, said.

The backlash was stirred by BlueScope Steel's announcement on Monday that it was sacking 1000 workers. Anger over the sackings increased yesterday when it emerged that executives awarded themselves $3.05 million in bonuses at the same time as they announced the retrenchments, which also mean the loss of another 400 contractors.

At the same time, BlueScope accepted $100 million from the government in assistance.

The national secretary of the Australian Workers' Union, Paul Howes, described the bonuses as ''a slap in the face'' to the workers. They included a $700,000 top-up to the company's managing director, Paul O'Malley, in addition to his $2 million salary.

The manufacturing debate is set to flare tomorrow morning when the steel industry, unions, an action group of 20 Labor MPs, and ministers hold a breakfast seminar in Canberra. Today the automotive industry, including Holden boss Mike Devereux, will hold similar talks with MPs and other groups.

BlueScope shed the workers because of losses incurred by the high dollar and the soaring costs of coking coal and iron ore. These factors are driven by the mining boom and there is anger against the miners for contributing to the demise of the manufacturing sector while doing nothing to help by establishing start-up deals with Chinese suppliers.

Australian steel is used in no more than 10 per cent of mining construction work. The Greens MP Adam Bandt and independent MP Bob Katter called for local content rules for big mining projects but the government said this would be protectionist.

In a submission to be released today, the Australian Industry Group will propose a national procurement strategy to augment existing government strategies and increase the use of locally made products without breaching World Trade Organisation obligations.



Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/calls-to ... z1Vu5BhFqR

Talk about shooting yourself in the foot! The Govt should man up and start bitch slapping the mining and steel industries into supporting the country which they are extracting from.

[dales]

Yes, and...

The US has been sold out to Red China for the last 20+ years.

[rubato]

BlueScope shed the workers because of losses incurred by the high dollar and the soaring costs of coking coal and iron ore. These factors are driven by the mining boom and there is anger against the miners for contributing to the demise of the manufacturing sector while doing nothing to help by establishing start-up deals with Chinese suppliers.

Who was crowing about the high dollar?



yrs,
rubato

[rubato]

And re: protectionism; hey go ahead and try it. Maybe it will work this time? Maybe the past 150 years of experience was just an aberration?

Would you like some creationism with that? How about some "global warming is a myth" on the side?


yrs,
rubato

[Gob]

Struggling auto maker Holden was Thursday handed a Aus$275 million (US$287 million) government subsidy to keep its Australian plants open, securing the company's future for the next 10 years.

In return Holden, an Australian subsidiary of US giant General Motors, agreed to inject over Aus$1 billion into vehicle manufacturing in Australia and to build two next-generation cars at its plant in southern Adelaide.

The announcement abates the threat of Holden shuttering its Australian plants as the industry suffers the effects of a high Australian dollar, rising production costs and faltering domestic sales.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the agreement would see Holden continue making cars in Australia until at least 2022.

"The high Australian dollar and strong competition from other countries in our region are putting strain on our automotive industry, and GM Holden had considered closing its entire design and manufacturing operations in Australia," she said.

"Through hard work and extensive negotiations we have struck an agreement that will see the company maintain a strong manufacturing presence in Australia for at least 10 more years.

She added that Holden estimated the new investment package would return around Aus$4 billion to the Australian economy.

"Most importantly, this co-investment will support thousands of jobs at Holden that would have been lost if the company had stopped making cars in Australia," said Gillard.

The subsidy is made up of Aus$215 million from the federal government, Aus$50 million from the South Australian state government and Aus$10 million from the Victorian state government.

Australia extended a multi-billion-dollar lifeline to the nation's ailing auto industry at the height of the global financial crisis, after Ford cut 450 jobs.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/busine ... t-handout/

[rubato]

How large a car industry can a population of 20M support w/o massive exports (which are hurt by a high Aus dollar)?


Year ....... Production ....... Change
2005 ....... 388,985 .......
2006 ....... 326,960 ....... -15.95%
2007 ....... 334,772 ....... 2.33%
2008 ....... 324,118 ....... -3.18%
2009 ....... 223,354 ....... -31.09%
2010 ....... 239,443....... 6.72%
2011 ....... 85,434 .......(May)

yrs,
rubato

[dales]

Here's some more dope on the Aus. Auto Industry....

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/0 ... ore-436150

General Motors announced a $1 billion investment in their Australian operations, along with a contribution of $285 million by the Australian government at the state and federal levels.



Prime Minister Julia Gillard said that they are committed to keeping Holden’s plants running until 2022. Ford and Holden’s Australian divisions are all cutting jobs amid a declining auto industry in Australia. GM cut 140 jobs from its Adelaide plant, while Toyota plans on cutting 350 jobs in Australia. The funding is expected to secure roughly 12,000 jobs at two GM plants while also securing thousands of supplier jobs.

Australia produced 400,000 cars in 2004, but in 2010 it produced just 250,000. The Australian government has been eager to help the auto industry since Mitsubishi shut down their Australian operations in 2008. Analysts have pegged Australia’s government funding to the industry at about $500 million per year since 2001, and the government is slated to continue the subsidies until 2020. Opposition parties have accused the industry of being totally reliant on government assistance, and some feel that a perpetual appetite for taxpayer funds, especially for an industry that produces increasingly irrelevant vehicles (anecdotal evidence suggests that most Commodores, Falcons etc are bought by government and private fleets) and exports little is becoming unsustainable. The Mazda3 replaced the venerable Holden Commodore as Australia’s best selling car in 2011, with the Holden Cruze nipping at its heels in 2012.

What they need to do is produce cars that people want to buy. Why can Japanese and German carmakers exceed at this while others have their corporate heads up their exhaust pipes?

[Gob]

Somebody is buying our Holdens Dales

[rubato]

"Holden has confirmed the first 23 long-wheelbase Caprice-based sedans were sold in May,"

23 cars a month! OMG! That's TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY SIX CARS A YEAR!

AND its the coveted Chevrolet Caprice!


Tooooooooooooooooooooooooooo funny.



yrs,
rubato

[Sean]

Funny? That the US is importing police cars from Australia?

I suppose it is...

[Gob]

Well Sean, Holden expects to ship about 2500 Caprice pursuit sedans to the USA this year, so every little helps. Funny as hell eh?

[Crackpot]

Somebody doesn't know the the value of the police sedan market.

[rubato]

http://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2010/08 ... he-market/

About 75,000 vehicles a year.

yrs,
rubato

[Gob]

The US trade deficit surged to the widest imbalance in more than three years in January as imports hit an all-time high, reflecting big demand for foreign-made cars, computers and food products.
US exports to Europe fell, raising concerns that the debt crisis in that region could dampen US economic growth.

The Commerce Department says the January trade deficit widened to $US52.6 billion ($49.6 billion), the biggest gap since October 2008. Imports rose 2.1 per cent to a record $US233.4 billion. Exports were up a smaller 1.4 per cent to $US180.8 billion. Exports to Europe fell 7.5 per cent.

Advertisement: Story continues below Economists are looking for the deficit this year to widen from last year’s $US560 billion imbalance, reflecting in part the economic woes in Europe, which represents about 20 per cent of America’s export market.



Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/world-bu ... z1puWGyjoL

Time for some protectionism?

[Long Run]

Time for some protectionism?

Sure, why don't you lower gas prices in your country so that someone might want to own a car?

[dales]

The last "US Made" computer I had was a Apple IIe.

The first Macs (all in one with 9" b/w display) were made in Fremont, CA.

Anyone trying to purchase "Made in the USA" consumer electronics will be sorely dissappointed.

Cars?

There is still a widely help perception that Detroit still bulds crap.

Food?

Why anyone would want to purchase food from overseas is beyond me.

[Gob]

Sure, why don't you lower gas prices in your country so that someone might want to own a car?

List of countries by vehicles per capita
2 United States 808
6 Australia 730

We seem to do ok.

[Long Run]

=
Why anyone would want to purchase food from overseas is beyond me.

Early season satsuma Japanese oranges?

btw, as an owner of a Nissan Stanza, Honda Accord, two Vovlos, and Ford Taurus -- without doubt, the longest lasting, least maintenance was the Ford. There are times when we still have it.

As for appliances -- Visio. Again, if the right company with the right situation goes at it, it can be a success even here in our service economy.

[Long Run]

[quote="Gob
List of countries by vehicles per capita
2 United States 808
6 Australia 730

We seem to do ok.[/quote]

As active as your country is reputed to be, I didn't think half the country was on walk about.

Pent up demand for our love to drive population might explain the car part of the equation. Computers, well, guys do like to brag about the size of their ram. Gotta keep up and all that.
As for the food - how does the other half live?

[Gob]

It's the UK which has the highest petrol prices.