Edwards Statement On Toyota Outselling General Motors

Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Senator John Edwards today released the following statement on the news that Toyota has outsold General Motors to become the worldwide leader in auto sales for the first time in history.

"The news that Toyota has passed GM as the world's top automaker while President Bush stubbornly pursues a one-sided trade deal with South Korea vividly demonstrates the stakes of the next election for American workers. For decades, American automakers and auto workers haven't just built automobiles, they've built the American middle class that's now been decimated by the failure and neglect of our national economic policies. A dangerous combination of bad trade policies and inattention to economic crises like out-of-control health care and energy costs is squeezing the life out of our manufacturing economy. This pattern will continue until we have an administration that focuses first on the needs of ordinary Americans instead of catering to those on top.

"The President should abandon his dogged pursuit of a trade deal that kicks American automakers when they're down. We already buy more than 100 times more South Korean cars than they buy from us. Any trade deal should start with South Korea fully and fairly opening their market to American autos. For over 50 years, South Korea has been one of our most valuable allies in Asia, but even friends should bargain fairly and, unfortunately, we know from previous experience that South Korea has not lived up to its agreements on autos."