Concession talks between the United Auto Workers and the Detroit Three shifted into an odd phase on Saturday as negotiations broke off with General Motors Corp (GM), slowed at Chrysler LLC and picked up speed at Ford Motor Co, financially the healthiest of the three, people briefed on the bargaining said.
The developments come as GM and Chrysler race toward tomorrow’s deadline to submit plans to show the government how they will become viable and repay billions of dollars in loans that are keeping them alive during the worst auto sales slump in 26 years.
Ford, which borrowed billions from private sources before credit markets tightened, has said it can make it through this year without government help.
The US Treasury Department has committed to giving GM a total of US$13.4 billion if the automaker’s plan is approved. GM’s plan, however, will raise the possibility that more government loans may be needed, as sales in overseas markets have deteriorated worse than expected, a person briefed on the plan said.
That means GM may seek another US$5 billion, raising the loan amount to about US$18 billion, the amount that GM sought when it made a presentation to Congress in December. The company will discuss bankruptcy in its plan but will emphasize using loans to get through the sales slump, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the preparations are private.
Top executives of Chrysler and GM have said bankruptcy is not an option for automakers because people will not make big-ticket purchases from a company that may not be around. Bankruptcy may also lead straight to liquidation unless the government provides debtor-in-possession financing.
Detroit-based GM is living on US$9.4 billion in government loans, and the Treasury Department must approve its viability plan for it to get US$4 billion more. Chrysler has received US$4 billion in government loans and wants an additional US$3 billion.
The conditions of the loans require the automakers to get concessions from their unions, debtholders, dealers and others, to help the companies become viable.
On Friday night, union negotiators walked out of talks with GM in a dispute over funding of a union-administered trust that will take over retiree health care expenses next year, a person briefed on the talks said on Saturday.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to