With President Donald Trump set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, a broad coalition spanning the American auto sector, steelmakers, unions, and politicians from both parties is pressing him with one clear demand: keep Chinese cars out of the United States.
The intense lobbying effort stems from fears that Chinese automakers, backed by massive state support, enormous scale, superior EV technology, and rock-bottom prices, could overwhelm domestic producers and foreign competitors alike, eroding the heart of U.S. manufacturing. According to Reuters, this pushback gained urgency after Trump’s comments in January to the Detroit Economic Club, where he said it would be “great” if Chinese automakers built plants in the U.S. and employed Americans.
He added, “I love that. Let China come in, let Japan come in.”
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Those remarks sent ripples of concern through an industry that has long fought to protect the American market with strict data security measures and high tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. Automakers, suppliers, dealers, and their allies have now unified in opposition, warning that any opening would repeat damaging patterns already visible abroad.
Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan took the message directly to the Detroit forum on Thursday, per Reuters. She urged Trump not to strike any deal with Xi that would allow Chinese investment, leading to Chinese-brand cars on U.S. dealership lots.
“Please don’t make a bad deal,” Slotkin said.
She joined Republican Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio in sponsoring the Connected Vehicle Security Act, which would codify and strengthen data protections against Chinese vehicles, making any reversal by the administration far more difficult.
A companion House bill goes further by also banning industry partnerships with Chinese companies.
Congressional aides say the legislation enjoys broad support and could pass this year, possibly attached to a transportation spending bill.
Representatives Debbie Dingell, a Democrat, and John Moolenaar, a Republican, both from Michigan’s auto-heavy districts, sponsored the House version and stated jointly: “Every vehicle on American roads is a rolling data collection device, capturing information on location, movement, people, and infrastructure in real time, and we cannot allow Chinese vehicles or components to be a part of that system.”
Seventy-four House Democrats and 52 House Republicans have signed letters imploring Trump to bar Chinese automakers from the American market.
U.S. Automakers Unite Against China
The U.S. auto industry has displayed rare unity on the issue. In March, groups representing American and foreign-brand automakers, car dealers, and parts manufacturers warned the administration that China’s drive to dominate global auto production and enter the U.S. market “pose a direct threat to America’s global competitiveness, national security and automotive industrial base.”
Steel industry groups sent a similar letter on April 30. Even the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, which has criticized some past Trump tariffs on Chinese goods, endorsed the ban legislation.
ITIF Vice President Stephen Ezell explained: “Chinese automakers are not normal market competitors. Their EVs are the product of decades of state-backed mercantilism designed to help China capture global leadership in advanced industries.”
He added, “Once China’s subsidized firms are embedded in the U.S. market, the economic and national security damage would be far harder to reverse — and it would not be limited to Detroit.”
Administration officials have signaled continuity so far. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in Detroit in April that there were no plans to change the connected car rule and that autos were not on the agenda for the summit with Xi.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has ruled out Chinese investments in the U.S. autos sector. Still, Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, expressed ongoing worry that Trump, who frequently speaks of drawing more auto plants to America, “has left wiggle room in dealing with the auto sector.”
Any approved plant would take two to three years to start production, shifting long-term consequences to a future administration.
Industry leaders point to troubling precedents in Europe and Mexico. Chinese brands doubled their European market share to 6% last year, capturing 14% in Norway, 9% in Italy, 11% in Britain, and 9% in Spain. Consumer interest in Chinese EVs has grown as gasoline prices rise amid the Iran war. Canada now imports 49,000 Chinese EVs annually, while 34 Chinese brands hold about 15% of the Mexican market at prices far below U.S. levels.
Geely’s EX2 EV sells for roughly $22,700 in Mexico—more than double its Chinese domestic price but well under the $38,630 U.S. starting price of the cheapest Tesla Model 3. Even Toyota struggles with the pricing pressure there.
Toyota Motor North America division manager David Christ said, “Obviously there’s some level of government support, or else they couldn’t transact at that price. So it has a huge impact on business.”
With Kelley Blue Book reporting average U.S. vehicle list prices now exceeding $51,000 amid an affordability crisis, many fear American consumers could be drawn to far cheaper Chinese options.
As the Trump-Xi meeting approaches, the American auto sector and its bipartisan supporters are making their position unmistakably clear: opening the door even slightly risks irreversible damage to a vital industry, national security, and the broader manufacturing base that has long powered the U.S. economy.