President Barack Obama visited Michigan on Wednesday, telling an audience at a Ford plant near Detroit that the American auto industry has had a successful resurgence despite criticism of the federal bailout.
"Betting on you was the right thing to do," Obama told workers at the plant, as quoted by Reuters. "That bet has paid off for America."
Government bailouts under the George W. Bush and Obama administrations preserved GM during its 2009 bankruptcy.
Obama, who has been touring ahead of his State of the Union address planned for Jan. 20, said the auto industry bailout that saved General Motors and Chrysler was an unpopular decision that has paid off.
While Detroit appreciated the president's support, Obama's policy on new trade agreements hasn't yet been warmly received.
Advocates and local officials in Michigan say a free trade agreement with Korea will be far more helpful to that country to America's own auto industry.
"Obama's administration is pushing for a 12-country free trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership," Reuters reported. "Critics of such pacts argue that they would hurt manufacturing jobs like those in the resurgent auto industry."
The president's upcoming State of the Union address will be delivered to an entirely Republican Congress for the first time.
A congressman in his own party shared concerns in an interview with Reuters about Obama's stance on Korean trade agreements.
"I think (Obama) will find that many in Detroit share the concern that I've articulated that these trade agreements ... often have the effect of undermining the core of our economy, which I think is manufacturing," U.S. Congressman Dan Kildee of Michigan told Reuters.
While the American auto industry saw strong growth in 2014, General Motors CEO Mary Barra predicted today that the U.S. market will level out this year.
GM expects sales to reach around 16.5 million to 17 million vehicles, which would reflect flat to 3 percent growth, said Barra. But thanks to a growing economy and low fuel prices, the U.S. auto industry still has room to grow, she noted.
Toyota has forecast 16.7 million in vehicles sales for 2015, while Ford has predicted sales of 16.8 million to 17.5 million vehicles this year.
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