Smirks calls meeting with big three constructive

Bush calls meeting with auto leaders constructive Bush calls meeting with auto leaders constructive By JUSTIN HYDEFREE PRESS WASHINGTON BUREAU November 14, 2006 WASHINGTON — President George W. Bush(R-lame duck) met with the heads of Detroit’s automakers in what he called a “constructive and meaningful dialogue ” at the White House this afternoon, while automakers said they agreed on many, but not all, issues. General Motors Corp. Chairman Rick Wagoner said the automakers told the president they could increase their production of vehicles that can run on ethanol or biodiesel to half of their fleet by 2012, if they could be assured that such fuels would be widely available. The Detroit automakers said earlier this year they would double their output of such vehicles by 2010.Vice President Dick Cheney, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and other officials joined Wagoner, Chrysler Group Chief Executive Tom LaSorda and Ford CEO Alan Mulally in the hour-long Oval Office meeting with Bush.Bush said the executives “are making difficult decisions, tough choices to make sure that their companies are competitive in a global economy.“And I’m confident that they’re making the right decisions, and that’s good news for the American people because the automobile manufacturers play such a significant part of our economy and a vital part of our employment base,” he said.Bush and the executives said they touched on health care, energy and currency, as expected. While Wagoner, LaSorda and Mulally praised the president for being open to their concerns, Wagoner indicated some areas of disagreement, especially on Detroit’s concerns of Japanese currency manipulation.“I can honestly say that it appeared the president didn’t 100 percent see it that way,” Wagoner said. “We had a good open dialogue. We agreed to continue that dialogue.”Bush said the meeting was a starting point for future conversations about the state of the industry. While not committing to discuss currency with Asian leaders next week, Bush said his message “to our trading partners is just treat us the way we treat you. Our markets are open for your products, and we expect your markets to be open for ours, including our automobiles.”The companies had pursued the long-awaited meeting, originally scheduled for May, after finding few sympathetic ears for their concerns in the administration, a problem exacerbated by the departure of former GM executive Andrew Card as White House chief of staff in March. Michigan’s Congressional Democrats, who will take over several important committees when the new Congress begins in January, have pressured the automakers to take a harder line with the administration. But the executives said the get-together was meant to improve relations, and succeeded. “I was very impressed with the president’s knowledge of the situation with competitiveness issues, and the fact we’re taking the actions needed to have viable businesses going forward, and his commitment to partner with us on issues that are really important,” said Mulally.