There has been a lot of debate going on in Washington about the 25 percent “chicken tax” being imposed on imported pickups. Manufactures worldwide have pulled the plug on sending their trucks to the United States because of this tax but that can all change with the possibility of the “chicken tax” being dramatically rolled back with large trade deals between the Pacific Rim Nations and the European Union (EU).

Mitsubishi Triton

There is new legislation in place that can make the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership are closer to become something of fact more then something that is just talked about. The Pacific Rim deal looks to create a 12-nation free-trade with 40 percent of the world’s economy, while the European Union deal would lower trade barriers and look to align regulations between the United States and EU.

The “chicken tax” in some peoples eyes has protected the three major U.S. truck manufactures because it has placed the cost of import trucks out of the market. This forced Japanese manufactures to make U.S. factories so they could get around the tax, thus creating a more affordable, competitive pickup.

The possibility of new pickup trucks hitting showroom floors in the United States, may not happen, at least for the near future. Some manufactures like Volkswagen, which builds the Amarok truck in Germany, said through a spokesman “If you look at where we produce vehicles, to bring an Amarok from Hanover, even if the chicken tax were repealed, would be a bit of a stretch.”

Mazda BT-50

Thailand is the one country outside the United States to have a large concentration of truck manufactures but Thailand is not involved in the trade talks. In Thailand, Ford builds Ranger, Mazda produces the BT-50, Mitsubishi assembles the L200 and Toyota produces the Hilux.

The roll back of the “chicken tax” is not going to be done with a flip of a switch, it will be something that will be done slowly. The trade tax with Japan could take the longest, which could take up to 25 years.

Another reason it will take a while to see any new pickups is the way they are designed overseas. The design of the trucks does not meet the U.S. crash and emission regulations. Some automakers stated that it is not just the “chicken tax” that would hold up the trucks being imported. Many of the overseas models overlap with the full-size and midsize trucks they have in the U.S. already.

Only time will tell to see if new trucks will be hitting showroom floors anytime soon. Do not hold your breath that it will happen, if it happens at all. The amount of other issues that need to be taken into consideration to let the import happen, it may be awhile.