Encouraging news!

[howam00]

Register to stop seeing this ad!

US-South Korea Trade Agreement Aims To Eliminate Chicken Tax on Trucks - PickupTrucks.com News

this will eliminate the chicken tax for Koren built trucks in about a decade (yeah it is a long time). I see Kia/Hyundai startign to develop these trucks so they can launch a mid sizer in that time frame here in the US.

Also of note as mentioned by a commentor, SSangyong is in Korea and now that Mahindra owns it they could produce the trucks there and ship them in without import taxation, still 10 years away though and I hope to see something else happen before then.

[pee wee]

The chicken tax as a whole has been bad for the American consumer, and bad for the American manufacturers in the long run. It created a sheltered environment to make and sell trucks in this country without the pressure to compete on a big scale. Without the pressure to compete, manufacturers haven't produced a product the rest of the world wants.
The unions however, are the big winners. I wonder how much of the union dues paid end up in our legislators' pockets.
It looks like the main reason the U.S. is easing the restrictions on South Korean goods is that on paper it looks like we stand to gain more by our increased exports than we'll lose in taxes collected.
They probably figure we don't want trucks that come from Korea, so there's no big harm in allowing them in, as opposed to Japanese or European brands. Yesterday I saw a new Toyota Hilux on the expressway; I don't know how someone managed to get one here, but I wish I had the option of buying one. Thank you U.S. Government that protects union pay scales to the detriment of all other considerations.

[howam00]

Aw heck the Government protects lots of things it shouldn't with legislator's pockets/campaigns being lined all they want with corporate funds. (moronic ruling allowing unlimited funds from corporations will absolutely destry the average Joe in the long run)

The chicken tax was about a hissy fit issue over 40 years ago and shouldn't be standing in the way now.

I do agree that we will likely benefit more by the exports than the lost tax revenue on the zero trucks beign imported by Korea

Odds are that Kia/Hyundai would just built another plant here in the US for their trucks/SUV's considering the cost to transport and other things. They have a good track record of doing so and if they felt enough demand for say 100,000 trucks and maybe another vehicle on that platform for a total over 150,000 vehilces its probably more cost effective to build them here, plus then they could sell them in Canada and Mexico without any other trade restrictions (NAFTA)

I would assume this to be in plans for 5 years before a single hole has been dug or a brick laid but I do expect to see something come out of this for us the Joe Blow consumer.

I sure wouldn't mind a 2.0T, 274 HP Canyon/Colorado sized truck. Hyundai has already shown profficiency in their powertrains and keeping their vehciles lighterthan the competition so I can only imagine that a truck built by them would be at or near the top in terms of power and reliability and be one of the lighest of the bunch with excellent fuel economy.

they also have an excellent 2.0 diesel that produces 138 HP and 236 lbs of torque, the same roughly as the Mahindra 2.2 mHawk. That would be a great motor for a compact truck if it ran a little lighter than the competition.

this would be even better:

Hyundai R-Series Diesel Engine
The R-Series diesel engine has a third generation Bosch common rail fuel injection system and produces an impressive 145kW (195hp) and 436Nm (321lb ft) of torque and is connected to a six speed automatic gearbox.