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Imported pickup tax in play in Trump trade talks with South Korea

WASHINGTON/SEOUL - Talks starting Friday to amend a U.S.-South Korean trade deal must balance President Donald Trump's domestic agenda against the need to contain a nuclear armed North Korea and will have to be completed swiftly, officials from both sides told Reuters. The U.S goods trade deficit with South Korea has doubled since the 2012 signing of the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS). Almost 90 percent of the 2016 shortfall of $27.6 billion came from the auto sector, an issue the United States is expected to press hard in the Washington talks. A quick deal could give Trump his first trade victory at a time when NAFTA negotiations are dragging on without agreement and pressure on China to change trade practices has yielded little progress. The talks, led by Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Michael Beeman and Yoo Myung-hee, director general for FTA negotiations at South Korea's trade ministry, begin at a time of heightened tensions with Pyongyang. A trade ministry official in Seoul said South Korea was waiting for Washington's formal proposals and substantial negotiations would not take place on Friday over a deal Trump has repeatedly threatened to scrap. "The U.S. brought up lowering non-tariff barriers, especially for their auto industry. At the moment, we are not sure whether the U.S. will ask that but we will be prepared (for the U.S. demand)," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to the press. A top priority for the Americans is maintaining a 25 percent tariff on Korean pickup truck imports, which was meant to have been phased out from 2019 under the current deal, according to a U.S. official and a South Korean car industry source. South Korea has two major automakers, Hyundai and Kia, both of which are heavily reliant on exports due to the small size of their domestic market. Critics charge that South Korea discriminates against imports with a range of non-tariff barriers. South Korean auto companies believe that Washington will also seek to increase the 25,000-vehicle per U.S. automaker threshold for U.S. car shipments to South Korea that can enter the country without meeting Seoul's domestic industry regulations. The official at a South Korea auto company, who was not authorized to speak to the media, also said the United States was interested in easing Seoul's vehicle emissions targets. These are viewed as discriminating against U.S. autos.

The Kia Sedona is the most neglected car model currently on sale

Today is a rainy day. What does a car nut do on a rainy day? After my spouse said I could have some free time, I started to wonder things. Bizarre things. Like, what happened to minivans? In addition to Ford, Chevy, and Dodge, other manufacturers jumped into the minivan pool. Remember the Mercury, Nissan, and Mazda's minivans? They stormed on the scene en masse in the 1980's and 1990's and then seemed to peter out as the crossover craze began taking full effect at the turn of the millennium. Now there are fewer minivan offerings and one in particular seems neglected. Well, it's still raining. So, I thought I would write down some of my thoughts in that vein. Today, Honda and Toyota are often seen as the minivan rivals, picking at each other in commercials and one-upping the other with little things, like an internal vacuum cleaner. But, don't forget Chrysler who has always been around in the category (they invented it if you believe their advertisements). So, they are always respected in the field, even though the Grand Caravan and Pacifica arguably aren't up to the Honda and Toyota standards. That's not to say they aren't worthy of serious consideration if you're looking for a minivan, because they are. All the products in this category have become relatively good and are far better in quality than anything from 30 years ago. There's another manufacturer out there however, making a minivan that is hardly ever heard from in automotive advertising circles. That is Kia. Their Sedona model is one of the most neglected models currently on sale. The Kia Sedona is a good product, a worthy competitor in the minivan category. It even has lots of conveniences at a price point that should appeal to minivan buyers (thousands less than Honda or Toyota). But, the parent company's limited advertising has not brought the attention to the model that it deserves. Toyota at least makes an effort to put some swagger into it's marketing campaign for their Sienna. The Swagger Wagon videos are still popular. Toyota has even made an off-road version of the Sienna to keep the Sienna top of mind, even if it is a ridiculous concept that will never go into production. So, what?! It's a fun exercise to keep their product somewhat viral. Kia, well... does anybody remember anything cool about the Sedona? Hold on... Yes! There was that Photo Safari Sedona back in 2015.

Guess which brand's not on a top 10 list of best EVs (hint: it's Tesla)

Few surprises lurk in Autotrader’s list of its 10 best electric vehicles of 2023, but there is one that stands out: no Teslas. There's Hyundais and Kias, Porsches and Fords, a BMW and a Nissan. But Â… no Teslas. Although many of us admit to being over-Musked and tired of reading about him, the lack of a Tesla model on a selection of the 10 most desirable current EVs is conspicuous by its absence. Asked about this particular omission, we received this rather vague response from Autotrader spokesperson Brenna Buehler at Cox Automotive: “Tesla models were included in consideration but didnÂ’t get sufficiently high scores by the Editorial team to qualify for the top 10.” At least some Tesla offerings appeared to meet all the requirements set by the website. The manufacturers must offer 2023 model year vehicles, and they have to be sold in at least 15 states. Check. Only pure EVs were allowed on the list; there are no hybrids, plug-in hybrids or hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. Check. The base manufacturer's suggested retail price must be less than $100,000. Check. Let the debates begin. Moving on, it should be noted that two Genesis models, a G80 sedan and GV 60 SUV, are listed, along with a Lucid Air midsize sedan, the Rivian R1T pickup, and the Porsche Taycan. Here is the full list, with the remarks and comments from Autotrader's raters. (And we've included links to Autoblog's own reviews for a deeper dive). The EVs are listed in alphabetical order by brand, so don't read anything into the order of presentation: 2023 BMW i4 BMW reboots its EV approach and comes up with a winner: Whatever you thought of BMW's first run at EV, the i3, it was missing a certain something – it didn't look or perform like a BMW. The 2023 BMW i4 corrects course with a Gran Coupe that our editors agree looks and drives like a BMW. 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning Ford's electric pickup gathers steam in its second year: The F-150 Lightning somehow synthesized decades of pickup truck knowledge with the latest and greatest EV technology and infused thoughtful details and user-friendly features. 2023 Genesis Electrified G80South Korea's luxury brand shows how to elevate the executive EV sedan without breaking the bank: Genesis, Hyundai's luxury offshoot, rethought the gasoline-powered luxury sedan, the G80, and developed the 2023 Genesis Electrified G80. Precisely as the name hints, the Electrified G80 replaces the G80's engine with an all-wheel-drive EV powertrain.