Automotive News reports that the president of France wants to investigate recent actions taken by the U.S. government to help the domestic auto industry to make sure they are in line with our agreements under the World Trade Organization treaty.
 

France wants U.S. aid to the car sector to be checked to see if it fits World Trade Organization rules, President Nicolas Sarkozy said, escalating tensions over rival industrial policies.

Sarkozy, who has announced aid for French automakers that critics have called protectionist, also said he would ask for a coordinated European plan to help the car industry.

“We need to see if the U.S. aid is compatible with the WTO,” Sarkozy said at a roundtable discussion in eastern France on the car industry on Thursday.

This is a very strange statement to make, especially since the French government has taken virtually identical actions in supporting their auto industry. Under WTO rules, a government may not restrict access to foreign companies while allowing access to domestic products or services in most sectors of the economy. But since virtually every nation in the world that has an auto industry has taken similar action — giving loans to those domestic firms to help them survive lean economic times — I can’t imagine why Sarkozy thinks our government’s actions in this regard are any more a problem under the WTO agreement than his are.