Rare alignment includes domestic, international automakers and dealers
The letter, signed by leaders of trade groups representing domestic and international car companies, auto dealers, suppliers and the EV industry, asked Trump to “maintain policies that keep the door firmly shut to Chinese automakers seeking to sell, import or manufacture vehicles inside the U.S.” Signatories included the Alliance for Automotive Innovation and the National Automobile Dealers Association.
“Allowing them to open a domestic facility would provide a foothold in the U.S. market at the expense of manufacturers operating here,” the coalition wrote.
The letter underscores industry concern that Trump is pursuing a deal with Xi that would invite greater Chinese investment in the United States. Trump told Fox News last week that he opposes Chinese car imports into the U.S. but said he would welcome Chinese automakers building vehicles in America.
“If China wanted to come in, and open a plant to build their cars here, I’d be OK with it. Japan does it — but they hire our people,” Trump said. “What I don’t want is them to build in Mexico and just, you know, build it inexpensively and ship it across the border.”
A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Trump administration has taken a hardened stance toward imported Chinese vehicles in recent months. In June, the Commerce Department banned Polestar, a majority-Chinese-owned electric-vehicle brand, from selling cars in the U.S. after both sides failed to reach an agreement that would put the company in compliance with a regulation banning internet-connected Chinese software in new vehicles.
This month, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy criticized Ford Motor’s business dealings with Chinese automotive firms, including a battery-plant joint venture with a Chinese company in Michigan and a factory tie-up in Spain with automaker Geely. Ford Chief Executive Jim Farley told The Wall Street Journal that Duffy’s letter reflected “basic misunderstandings” about the company’s operations.
Congress has also been considering legislation that would stamp out imports of Chinese vehicles and manufacturing. Chinese car companies have largely avoided expanding to the U.S. because of the software ban and tariffs in excess of 100% on imported electric vehicles. The coalition’s letter credited those policies with preventing the U.S. from “grappling with a massive surge in cut-rate Chinese vehicles that are not only capable of collecting and transmitting personal data back to the Chinese government.”
The pressure on global automakers from Chinese competition has surfaced in recent industry decisions. Volkswagen’s supervisory board this month approved a plan to cut 100,000 jobs and halve the company’s model portfolio, in part due to the strain of increasing competition from Chinese automakers.