WTO deals deathblow to AutoPact

The Canadian government's loss in a discrimination case brought on by non-AutoPact manufacturers Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. Ltd. means the likely death of the U.S./Canada AutoPact. Canada will be forced to impose a 6.1% tariff on all overseas auto imports to comply with a ruling by the World Trade Organization. The 1965 AutoPact agreement requires carmakers to build as many vehicles in Canada as they sell. It was in dispute because the Big Three could import Europe-built vehicles duty-free, while non-members were hit with a 6.1% tariff on overseas imports. The Big Three and Canadian Auto Workers union have spent three years fighting to preserve the AutoPact, citing job loss and plant closures without it as an incentive to invest in Canada.