I put up a few posts about how the Chicken Tax hurt Isuzu by not allowing them to manufacture their vehicles in Japan (or Thailand) and ship them here.

Ford is running into this as well--and is going through some convolutions to get around it.
- Make a van in Turkey
- Put in extra seats to call it a passenger vehicle.
- Take Ship van to North America
- Pull out the seats and toss them in the landfill. (Metal parts are recycled)
- Replace the windows with sheet metal

Save 25% Chicken Tax!
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125357990638429655.html

This is also why the Sabaru Brat had lawn chairs bolted to the back bed--it's not a 2-door pickup truck, it's a 4-person passenger vehicle where those bratty kids sit outside in the freezing rain at 60 mph! (Making it perfect for the TV show My Name Is Earl)

Also on the Isuzu board:
ò New hope for Isuzu: Free trade with Thailand + end of chicken tax on (legislative) table
http://www.4x4wire.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=0&Board=UBB68&Number=652638

ò Isuzu News / Good Reviews / Pics of potential new vehicles / Chicken Tax Explained
http://www.4x4wire.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=0&Board=UBB68&Number=458336

ò AIADA to fight chicken tax
http://www.4x4wire.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=0&Board=UBB68&Number=656833

Sorta like when Isuzu imported the "Trooper II" without rear seats so it could be considered a "truck", saving a 25% tariff on Japanese cars at the time, then installed rear seats in the US.

Actually, it was the other way around. the 2 door 86-88 troopers were imported as passenger vehicles to bypass the tariff. Regs changed with the 89 model year, so that all 2 door SUVs were imported as "light trucks". Isuzu and the others tried various things (port installation of rears seats, cargo beds, etc) to no avail. By '90 all of the 2 door SUVs dried up. Take a look at the tariff paid for a 90+ 2 door Pathfinder or 4 Runner.

What you are saying doesn't change my statement...the tariffs changed over time, sometimes flip-flopping 100% on what was being taxed...my statement is correct for at least part of that time period.

Sorry, I didn't mean to come off as being argumentative. I thought you were saying that "passenger vehicle" were affected. The tax always applied to "light trucks" not manufactured in north america. What changed over time is the definition of a "light truck". Isuzu and other manufactures were able to skirt the system by adding beds stateside and cargo seats (BRAT) overseas.

It is my understanding that Isuzu skirted the regs by classifyig their SUVs as "passenger vehicles" until 89. I've heard that the seats were added to skirt the Chicken Tax, but I cannot understand how that would have worked given.

Also, the "country of origin" affected by this tariff almost changed during the fair trade intiatives. At one time, there was a very heavy lobbying effort to exclude Thailand and South Korea from this list. Unfortunately for Isuzu, this legislation did not make it through.

Given my business, I've bumped into this piece of legislation alot. For almost 20 years, I've been working with upfitters to work around the tax. I'm actually about to liquidate a couple dozen of the infamous Sprinters with seats and welded in sheet metal.