US Automotive Aid Displeases France

As the economic crisis rages on, there is not a single car manufacturer on the planet that can escape its grip. We have all seen ever decreasing sales reports, massive job cuts and plant closures. Most of the world's countries have come to the aid of their local automotive markets, but the measures taken by some were never intended to upset others.

France, however, seems to have taken some offense from the United State's aid package. French president Nicholas Sarkozy wants the US support program to be checked to see if it meets World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.

"We need to see if the U.S. aid is compatible with the WTO," Sarkozy was quoted as saying by Reuters at a roundtable discussion on the car industry in eastern France. His statement did nothing but to further escalate tensions between EU countries and the US over rival industrial policies.

European Union leaders will meet in Brussels on Sunday to discuss steps that need to be taken to soften the effects on the crisis. Sarkozy plans to ask for a coordinated European plan to help the automotive industry.

France has already approved loans to both French manufacturers Renault and PSA Peugeot Citroen.

“I want us to stop out-sourcing and if possible in-source. If we give money to the auto industry to restructure itself, it's not so we can hear about a new plant moving to the Czech Republic or wherever," France's president said.

This statement was seen by neighboring countries as a isolationist move and even displeased the Czech European presidency as much as for it to declare "if someone wanted to seriously threaten the ratification of the Lisbon treaty, he could not have chosen better means and time for it."