WCA July 2019

From the Americas The company’s chief executive, John Krafcik, said in a blog post that Waymo would partner with American Axle and Manufacturing to lease and repurpose an existing Detroit facility, expected to be operational by mid-2019. American Axle was formed in 1994 when an investment team purchased five plants put up for sale by General Motors. In January, Waymo said it had chosen Michigan for its first production facility, adding it would receive incentives from a public-private partnership agency, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, and create up to 400 jobs over time. Waymo is generally thought to be ahead in the self-driving race. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced that Tesla plans to launch a “robotaxi service” in 2020, but Waymo already has a robotaxi operation in Arizona and has plans for expansion. Waymo currently retrofits Chrysler Pacifica minivans to use in the robotaxi fleet, but announced in March 2018 that it would diversify the fleet, partnering with Jaguar to produce up to 20,000 vehicles by 2022. The fleet would be capable of around one million trips per day. Global automakers, large technology companies and start-ups are all engaged in self-drive development, but experts expect it will be years before systems are ready to be rolled out in all areas, with software and regulations among the many challenges. In November 2018 GM announced plans to halt production at five North American assembly plants, cutting around 15,000 jobs, and to end production at its last Detroit factory in 2020. Michigan, however, can enjoy a more optimistic outlook. Fiat Chrysler is investing $4.5 billion in five plants, creating 6,500 jobs, and there are commitments from both GM and Ford Motor Co to build autonomous vehicles at Michigan factories. Ford faces justice department probe into its fuel economy testing The US Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into Ford Motor Company’s emissions-certifi- cation processes. The probe “currently focuses” on Ford’s road-load estimations, including analytical and coastdown procedures used to determine published Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fuel-efficiency figures, and “does not involve the use of defeat devices,” the automaker said in its first quarter 2019 financial statement, reported by motortrend. com “We voluntarily disclosed this matter to the EPA and the California Air Resources Board [CARB] on 18 th February 2019 and 21 st February 2019, respectively,” Ford stated. The Justice Department subsequently “opened a criminal investigation into the matter. “In addition, we have notified a number of other state and federal agencies. We are fully cooperating with all government agencies…and we cannot provide assurance that it will not have a material adverse effect on us.”

Short stories

Section 232 appeal On 3 rd April, the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS) announced it had filed an appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in its case against the administration’s use of section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act to implement tariffs and quotas on imported steel and aluminium. The announcement by AIIS came soon after the US Court of International Trade (CIT) ruled against the group’s previous argument that section 232 violated the US Constitution’s separation of powers. In its decision, the CIT’s three-judge panel said it was bound by the precedent established by a 1976 Supreme court case, Federal Energy Administration v Algonquin SNG Inc. In the Algonquin case, the Supreme Court found that section 232 established “no looming problem of improper delegation” by Congress to the president. While the CIT acknowledged the binding force of Algonquin in reaching its decision, the opinion by Judge Gary S Katzmann noted that the broad language of section 232 makes it “difficult to escape the conclusion that the statute has permitted the transfer of power to the president in violation of the separation of powers.” On 28 th March, Judge John Bates of the District of Columbia ruled against the Department of Labor’s final rule on association health plans (AHPs). Last year, the Department of Labor released a final rule changing the definition of “employer” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), permitting trade associations to form AHPs and offer health insurance across state lines. Before the final rule, AHPs were subject to each state’s insurance regulations. However, because the final rule would exempt the plans from most state regulations (similar to the health plans of large employers operating in multiple states), the judge found it was in violation of the Affordable Care Act. Since the decision could effectively invalidate AHPs formed under the agency’s final rule, the Department of Labor has stated it is considering all available options on whether it will file an appeal or rewrite the rule. On 4 th April, California, Minnesota and Oregon filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration’s attempts at deregulation. At the beginning of his presidency, President Trump signed an executive order requiring all federal agencies to revoke at least two current regulations when issuing a new regulation. Known as 2-for-1, President Trump’s executive order attempts to offset the costs of any new regulations by removing unduly burdensome and unnecessary rules. The lawsuit filed by the three states argues that the 2-for-1 order is unconstitutional and violates the Administrative Procedures Act. Gill Watson – Features Editor Judge blocks Labor Department’s rule allowing association health plans States file lawsuit against President Trump’s 2-for-1 order

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Wire & Cable ASIA – July/August 2019

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