American automakers, suppliers, steelmakers, unions, and lawmakers from both parties are ramping up the pressure on Donald Trump ahead of his meeting with China's Chairman Xi Jinping, urging him to prevent even a partial opening of the U.S. market to Chinese cars. This is reported by Reuters.
The cause for concern was Trump's earlier remarks made in January in Detroit, stating it would be "great" if Chinese auto companies wanted to build factories in the U.S. and hire American workers. These comments sparked a strong backlash in an industry that has fought for years to impose strict limits on Chinese cars' access to the American market through high tariffs on electric vehicles and stringent data protection rules.
Now the auto industry and politicians are trying to prevent Trump from using his meeting with Xi for any deal that would open the gates for Chinese brands into American car dealerships or allow Chinese investments in the sector. Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin from Michigan publicly urged the president "not to make a bad deal" and supported a bipartisan bill that aims to explicitly ban Chinese cars in the U.S. due to data collection risks.
The authors of the bill emphasize that a modern car is a "rolling data collection mechanism" that records location, movements, people, and infrastructure in real-time, so Chinese cars and components should not become part of this system. A total of 74 Democrats and 52 Republicans in the House of Representatives have already advocated against allowing Chinese brands into the market.
There is rare unity in the industry on this issue. In March, associations of American and foreign automakers, dealers, and parts manufacturers warned the administration that China's ambition to dominate the global auto industry and gain access to the American market poses a direct threat to the U.S. global competitiveness, national security, and the very industrial base of the auto sector. Soon after, a similar letter was sent by representatives of the steel industry.
Officially, representatives from the administration are trying to calm the market. U.S. Trade Representative Jamison Greer said in April that there are no plans to change the rules, and the topic of cars isn't even on the agenda for the Beijing summit. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also previously ruled out Chinese investments in the American auto sector. Nevertheless, there are still concerns in the industry that Trump, who continuously talks about wanting to attract more auto factories to the U.S., might still leave himself some room for maneuver.
Concerns in the auto industry are reinforced by the situation abroad. American companies don't want a repeat of the scenario in Europe and Mexico, where Chinese brands are rapidly gaining market share thanks to low prices. In Europe, the share of Chinese brands doubled last year to 6%, reaching 14% in Norway, 9% in Italy, 11% in the UK, and 9% in Spain. In Mexico, 34 Chinese automotive brands are already being sold, capturing about 15% of the market. Meanwhile, the American market is particularly vulnerable: the average price of a new car in the U.S. exceeds $51,000, and cheaper Chinese models could quickly attract buyers amid the car availability crisis.
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