Ford Motor Co chairman and CEO Bill Ford urged the US Congress on Tuesday to offer a package of tax incentives to make the US less dependent on foreign oil and to drive innovation in the struggling domestic auto industry.
Ford, during a speech he made in Washington, urged Congress to "dramatically increase" tax credits for research and development of alternative vehicles and to consider tax incentives to help US manufacturers modernize their plants.
He also urged investments in training programs for US workers, the encouraging of consumers to buy fuel-saving vehicles and partnerships to build an infrastructure of gasoline stations offering ethanol.
"Now, more than ever, I believe we must take action. If we put our heads together and keep in mind our shared interest in America's future, I'm confident that we can innovate our way toward the right solutions," Ford said.
Ford had "a productive set of meetings" with senior White House officials later in the day, spokesman Ed Lewis said. The discussions involved advanced vehicle technologies and ways Ford can help the country move toward energy independence, Lewis said.
In September, Ford urged US President George W. Bush to convene an energy summit with automakers, suppliers, energy companies, consumers and the government "to discuss our nation's energy security and our role in helping find a solution."
Lewis said the concept of a White House summit was still under review.
White House spokesman Allen Abney declined comment on the meeting.
Ford and other US automakers have been hit hard by increased competition from Asia, steep health care expenses and high costs for raw materials.
The automaker reported a third-quarter loss of US$284 million last month. Ford said last week it expects to eliminate about 4,000 white-collar jobs in North America early next year as part of that restructuring plan.
Moody's Investors Service said on Tuesday it may lower Ford's credit rating deeper into "junk" status because of weak demand for full-size trucks and sport utility vehicles.
Moody's has cut Ford's debt to a Ba1 rating, its highest non-investment grade rating, in August. The agency said that Ford's shipments of full-size trucks and SUVs, the company's longtime cash cows, fell by 30 percent to 40 percent in September and last month.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique