Clinton administration which opened up many foreign markets previously closed to the US auto makers. One of the main markets that the Clinton administration opened up was the Japanese market. This was such a positive victory for the US industries because the Japanese were notorious for charging very little for the cars they sold in foreign countries, making up the difference with extremely high prices for the cars they sold in the closed markets of Japan. The North Atlantic Trade Agreement also opened up trade to many nations in Latin America, especially Mexico. Overall, between 1992 and 1995 export sales rose 22 percent and the sales to Mexico and Japan each rose 250 percent. The auto industry is also a major source of jobs in the world. During the early 1990s, approximately one of every seven jobs in the US domestic economy is related to the production, sale, operation, or maintenance of motor vehicles (Tardiff 396) which makes abundantly clear the impact the car industry has on society, with GM, Chrysler, and Ford Companies making up three fourths of those jobs. Auto workers are also among the most highest paid workers in any industry and also the most productive. This great increase in worker productivity, due to advancing technology, also accounts for the huge profit gains the Big Three have received in the past few years. Until the late 1960s, the government did not get involved in implementing regulations on the automobile industry. Most of the regulations now placed on car manufacturers have to do with making the car drive safer and be more environmentally sound. Seat belts, reflectors, bumpers, windshield wipers, defrosters, dashboard controls and specialized lights, brakes, tires, and windows were all the result of government action. Today safety has become extremely important to car makers because of the high deaths that result from automobile accidents, the government, and most influentially, peoples growing concern for the...
