U. S. Carmakers Request Additional Opening of Car Market

U.S. carmakers consider the Korean automobile market 'not open enough' and requested an additional opening of the market. Recently, major U.S. automakers submitted a report to the U.S. Trade Representative(USTR) which stated that Korea remains the most closed country among car manufacturing countries. They stressed that the recent motor agreement between Korea and the U.S. is insufficient.
The report added, 'The Korean auto industry has an over-capacity, double the maximum domestic consumption, due to the support of the government. In spite of this, Korean automakers continue to invest in production facilities in foreign countries.'
The USTR will issue a report about trade barriers in 1999 and present it to the U.S. Congress. It brought a similar report concerning the Korean government's financial support of Hanbo Steel to the U.S. Senate.
The Hanbo Steel report stated that the U.S. will observe reforms in Korea and the measures put forth by Korea are timely and reasonable. A source at the Korea Trade Association said, 'The U.S. is not expected to bring a petition to the World Trade Organization over Hanbo Steel.'