No review of car tariff cuts - Macfarlane

INDUSTRY Minister Ian Macfarlane has ruled out reviewing tariff cuts on vehicle imports, despite reports Ford plans to stop building the Falcon six-cylinder engine at its Victorian plant.
Up to 600 jobs could be lost under Ford's plan to import V6 engines which will comply with new Euro IV exhaust emissions laws to be phased in during the next three years, Fairfax reported today.

There is a 10 per cent tariff on car imports, but the federal government is reducing this to five per cent by 2010.

Mr Macfarlane today said now was not the time to resort to protectionist policies.

"No, we certainly shouldn't be doing anything that would make the industry think that we're moving away from ensuring that Australia produces a world-competitive car,'' he said.

"If we left our tariffs at 40 to 50 per cent there's no way we'd be exporting over 100,000 vehicles a year.

"The reality is that by lowering tariffs and providing the industry with $7.3 billion worth of assistance, we've allowed that industry to become internationally competitive which, in the long term, will be the difference between the industry surviving and not surviving.''

He insisted there was a future for Australian car manufacturing and rejected suggestions that hefty government assistance demonstrated the industry was not viable.

"It's not doomed,'' Mr Macfarlane said.

"What we're seeing in Australia is a growing reliance on export markets.

"That's always going to be the future for Australia's industry.

"If it's going to grow, if it's going to compete with imports it not only has to produce a world-class car at a world-class price but it also needs to export that vehicle into other markets.''

He distanced the government from Ford's plans, saying any decision on job cuts at the manufacturer's Geelong plant would be a decision for the company to make in consultation with its workforce.

"There are emission changes that come into effect for Ford in 2010 and on that basis they're obviously considering various options,'' he said.

"But other than that it's a decision for Ford and they'll make those decisions in consultation with their workers at the appropriate time.''

Ford has been making six-cylinder engines such as the Falcon's in Geelong since 1926.

source : www.theaustralian.news.com.au