Government Subsidies to Foreign Car Companies

As Republican politicians, mostly from the South, rant and rail against the UAW and insist that the "free market" should be allowed to take down American car companies, it is helpful to keep in mind that most of the foreign car companies received subsidies to build plants in America. Good Jobs First, a group promoting green economic development, released a study of what foreign car plants received government subsidies. Here is a list of such companies and the amounts they received:

Honda, Marysville, Ohio, 1980, $27 million*

• Nissan, Smyrna, Tenn., 1980, $233 million**

• Toyota, Georgetown, Ky., 1985, $147 million

• Honda, Anna, Ohio, 1985, $27 million*

• Subaru, Lafayette, Ind., 1986, $94 million

• Honda, East Liberty, Ohio, 1987, $27 million*

• BMW, Spartanburg, S.C., 1992, $150 million

• Mercedes-Benz, Vance, Ala., 1993, $258 million

• Toyota, Princeton, Ind., 1995, $30 million

• Nissan, Decherd, Tenn., 1995, $200 million**

• Toyota, Buffalo, W.Va., 1996, more than $15 million

• Honda, Lincoln, Ala., 1999, $248 million

• Nissan, Canton, Miss., 2000, $295 million

• Toyota, Huntsville, Ala., 2001, $30 million

• Hyundai, Montgomery, Ala., 2002, $252 million

• Toyota, San Antonio, Texas, 2003, $133 million

• Kia, West Point, Ga., 2006, $400 million

• Honda, Greensburg, Ind., 2006, $141 million

• Toyota, Blue Springs, Miss., 2007, $300 million

• Volkswagen, Chattanooga, Tenn., 2008, $577 million

Total: more than $3.58 billion

You can read more about the Good Jobs First study here.