Issue to watch: China Moves to Retaliate Against U.S. Tire Tariff

Saw a little bit about this yesterday on Fox News. Interesting in a number of ways... China is backing a lot of our dollars right now, plus we buy a lot of their products and vice versa. Is Obama going to back down under pressure? Is this something Obama's White House plans to do more often? Is this something Obama plans to continue to do just for the unions or will it be universal? What are the long-term implications of the tariffs (on both sides of the world). I'd suggest, if you're interested, that you do a search and read an assortment of articles. - Editor

The following is from the New York Times:

China Moves to Retaliate Against U.S. Tire Tariff

HONG KONG — China unexpectedly increased pressure Sunday on the United States in a widening trade dispute, taking the first steps toward imposing tariffs on American exports of automotive products and chicken meat in retaliation for President Obama’s decision late Friday to levy tariffs on tires from China...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/14/business/global/14trade.html?_r=2&ref=todayspaper

Cherry Blossom Announces Grant and New Leadership and Executive Search

/PRNewswire/ -- Since its founding 27 years ago, the Macon Georgia's International Cherry Blossom Festival has been a tremendous boost to the Central Georgia economy. Its success this past spring once again demonstrated the strength and durability of this award-winning festival to draw thousands of visitors from across the southeast and the nation.

"Almost 99 percent of the events and activities held this year were sold out," Festival Chairman Steve Jukes said at a press conference today. "The number of sponsorships and grants was especially strong, enabling many of our events to be offered free of charge. The Festival Board is pleased to announce a $50,000 grant awarded by the Fickling Family Foundation. This grant is a match grant stemming from a fundraising campaign the board launched in June of 2008."

Jukes directly attributed much of the success of the annual festival to the business leaders, foundations and government officials who understand the significant role the Cherry Blossom Festival has in building community, increasing the city's national visibility, attracting tourists and generating business revenue.

"We express our appreciation to all of our partners for their generous support and cooperation that made the 2009 Festival a great and memorable event," he said. "This festival is the finest example of success through the cooperation of the many different public and private sectors of Central Georgia."

Indicative of the enduring support the Festival receives from the local community, Bill Fickling III, who is a past Board Chair and Festival Chair, announced that the Fickling Family Foundation has awarded a $50,000 matching grant to the Cherry Blossom Festival.

"We are indeed appreciative and fortunate to have this generous gift from this very civic-minded family," Jukes stated. "This gift from the Fickling Family Foundation is a matching grant based on the fundraising success of the Legacy Fund, which received generous support from past and present board members, trustees and friends to meet this match."

Plans are already underway for the 2010 Festival, which Jukes said he expects to be one of its best. The event is scheduled for March 19-28.

"Through ongoing sponsorships of corporations, businesses and foundations and cooperation from city and county boards, agencies and departments, we are going to once again present the best in talent, shows and activities," he promised. "We will infuse those 10 days in March with great family fun and tremendous excitement."

The 2010 festival leadership was elected at Thursday's Board of Directors meeting. Jukes will exchange his responsibilities as Festival Chairman for those as the Chair of the Board of Directors. Lee Robinson, who was the 2009 Board Chair, will serve as the 2010 Festival Chairman. Steve Farr and Thomas Wicker are moving to the Board of Directors and several new members have been added to the Board of Trustees including Renee Bumpus, Patricia Combes, Tiffany Farrow, Colonial Brian Grady, George Greer, Rhonda Levy, Allen London, David Rosenberg, David Thompson, Janie Hawk Wilhoit, and Garrett Williams.

Festival Chairman Lee Robinson also announced that the Board of Directors is seeking a new President and CEO for the Cherry Blossom Festival and Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful. The Board is seeking candidates who can take these two well-established organizations to an even higher level of success. It has a consulting service to assist with the search.

"We are looking for a dynamic and creative individual who can build on the festival's foundation of success while drawing broader support and higher attendance," said Robinson.

The Festival expects to fill the leadership post this summer. Information on the opportunity is available on the Cherry Blossom web site: www.cherryblossom.com.

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Less Than 1% of Stimulus Funds Allocated to Middle Class Firms

/PRNewswire/ -- According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 98% of all U.S. firms have less than 100 employees. Approximately 25 million firms fall into that category. These firms employ over 55% of the private sector workforce and are responsible for over 95% of all new jobs created in America. (www.asbl.com)

The American Small Business League (ASBL) has found of the $2.7 trillion that has been allocated so far to stimulate the national economy, only $21 billion, or less than 1% of the funds have directly gone to small businesses. (http://tinyurl.com/mfzfp7)

The remainder of the funds that were allocated to businesses wound up in the hands of the top 1% of U.S. firms. President Obama has promised to create up to 4.1 million jobs. Census data indicates the top 1% of U.S. firms have not created one net new job since 1977.

There is evidence to suggest the economic stimulus plan is actually harming small businesses. The Wall Street bailout bills were touted as being essential to increasing access to capital for small businesses. Some of the firms that received billions in federal tax dollars are actually cutting access to capital for small businesses. A story in BusinessWeek reported that JPMorgan Chase, one of the largest recipients of the bailout funds, reduced the flow of credit lines for small businesses. (http://tinyurl.com/ou7j79)

Section 107 of the original Wall Street bailout bill gave the Treasury Secretary the power to waive any provisions of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) he chooses. Paragraph 9 (b) of the bill specifically mentions the waiver of "any provision of the Federal Acquisition Regulations pertaining to minority contracting" and the waiver of provisions pertaining to "woman-owned businesses."

The Obama Administration is supporting a new bill in Congress that could dismantle existing federal economic stimulus programs for small businesses by changing the federal definition of a small business. The new definition will allow many of the nations wealthiest venture capitalists to take billions of dollars in federal contracts previously earmarked for small businesses.

In February of 2008 President Obama stated, "It is time to end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants." To date, the President has refused to adopt any policy to honor that campaign promise. A series of federal investigations discovered that billions of dollars in federal small business contracts are being diverted to Fortune 1000 firms.

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NADA Chairman Says Next Two Months Are Critical to the Future of Auto Industry

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With 2009 expected to be one of the toughest years yet for auto retailing, the incoming chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association issued a call-to-action Monday, urging dealers to make their voices heard in the debate over how to return the industry to economic viability and how new emission standards should be implemented.

"The nation's new car dealers have already made strides in communicating the importance of the franchise network, the need for federal bridge loans and the necessity of stable credit markets, but the work must continue," said 2009 NADA Chairman John McEleney and Iowa dealer.

"The next two months are critical to the future of our industry as we know it - the future of GM and Chrysler, availability of credit and the return of stability to our economy," he said.

"In a 17-million-sales year, it may be enough for us to share that we sponsor Little League teams or that we helped to fund the new wing at the local hospital," McEleney said. "In a 12-million-sales year, we've got to tell how we contribute to our community's bottom line."

-- "Tell how many of our employees' kids we helped send to college."
-- "Tell how many people were able to get healthcare through us."
-- "Tell how many people picked up lifelong skills - technical skills,
people skills and management skills in the time they've worked for
us."


"The unprecedented nature of the times we find ourselves living in has been both a blessing and a curse," he said. "It's drawn the kind of attention to our industry that we haven't encountered in years."

McEleney said some pundits characterized dealers as a drain on the books of automakers and suggested it was time to do away with the franchise system.

"...we had to inform people about the model of our business," he said. "...it's our money we invest in buildings and staff and training, not the manufacturers. It's our investments that are on the line to get their products distributed to buyers."

With much attention being paid to the industry, it's incumbent upon dealers to inform the public about auto retailing's impact on local, state and national economies. Sales taxes collected at auto dealerships nationwide total in the billions of dollars each year. And auto sales make up nearly 20 percent of all retail spending in the U.S.

Today, President Obama directed the Environmental Protection Agency to review whether to authorize state efforts to regulate vehicle emissions. NADA welcomes that review, McEleney said, but is urging the administration to carefully examine how those rules would actually be implemented. That kind of review will reveal that the California Air Resources Board's rule is in direct competition with the federal CAFE program, he said.

"We hope that the president and the EPA administrator will realize that a single national fuel-economy standard is smarter than a patchwork of state regulations that will only further endanger our industry," McEleney said.

With the auto industry undergoing drastic changes, the coming year could be one of the most challenging ever. But the auto industry is cyclical, and dealers will continue to succeed if they focus on things they can control, he said.

"Our job is to protect and strengthen our dealerships so that as the cycle turns upward, we are in a position to thrive," McEleney said.

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