By Joseph J. Schatz, CQ Staff

The domestic industry’s uphill fight this week for an additional $25 billion in federal loans has been complicated by an economic shift with political implications — foreign automakers are now an important feature of the economic landscape in many states.

Some lawmakers are not inclined to help the struggling Big Three — particularly General Motors Corp., which has received the most congressional criticism for its business decisions — when foreign competitors including Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co. and BMW of North America LLC are making cars and trucks in their states or districts.

This is particularly true in the South, where leaner, more financially stable foreign automakers with fewer financial commitments to retired workers have built many of their plants in states where union organizing is more difficult.

“I have BMW in my state,” notes Sen. Lindsey Graham , R-S.C. The German carmaker produces three models in Spartanburg. “It’s hard for me to go back home and tell BMW, ‘I’m going to give $25 billion to your competitor, who has a legacy cost you don’t, and a business model that’s unsustainable in the global economy.’ ”

Graham opposes the draft legislation from Senate Democrats that would carve out $25 billion in emergency loans for GM, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC from the $700 billion financial industry bailout enacted last month.

For now, Graham’s side is winning, as passage during this week’s lame-duck session is doubtful. When the chief executives of the Big Three testified Tuesday in front of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, senators told them not to expect action on the legislation this week.

“We’ll have to regroup and decide how to move forward,” said Chairman Christopher J. Dodd , D-Conn.

Industry Sees Influence Waning

Even though the Big Three and the United Auto Workers still hold some sway, the influx of foreign-owned car manufacturers is undermining their political clout.

Asian and European automakers have an increasingly large American presence. According to a February report from the Michigan-based Center for Automotive Research, a nonprofit research group that receives some of its funding from the auto industry, foreign carmakers are expected to create 38,600 new jobs in the United States by 2016 — enough to offset an expected decline in domestic automaker jobs.

Japan’s Toyota, for example, has final assembly plants in Kentucky, Indiana and Texas, while Honda has two in Ohio, one in Indiana and three in Alabama, according to Ward’s Automotive Group. Each of those states is also the home to American automakers’ plants — leaving some members of Congress with multiple factors to consider on auto industry issues.

In Ohio, GM is the top automotive employer, with 14,650 employees, while Honda is close behind, with 14,000. Ford and Chrysler employ 11,200 and 6,600 employees, respectively.

Sen. Sherrod Brown , D-Ohio, a staunch ally of organized labor who supports the auto bailout legislation, says a domestic automotive collapse would hurt U.S. and foreign companies alike. The many automotive component suppliers operating across Ohio “supply Ford in Avon Lake; they also supply Honda in Marysville.”