A bipartisan effort to permanently bar Chinese vehicles from the US market has been delayed until next week as its sponsors seek to win over a Republican senator whose opposition could block the legislation, adding another complication to Washington’s increasingly contested policy toward Chinese automakers.
Republican Senator Bernie Moreno and Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin had planned to use a fast-track procedure requiring unanimous Senate consent to advance the bill on Thursday. Instead, they agreed to postpone the move while they negotiate with Republican Senator Rand Paul, who has raised concerns about the legislation, congressional aides said. Reuters reported that Paul intends to continue discussing those concerns over the weekend and into next week.
The delay came on the same day President Donald Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington, placing the proposed vehicle ban directly against the backdrop of broader US-China negotiations over trade, technology and supply chains.
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Moreno said he remained hopeful that the bill would clear the Senate next week and that the House of Representatives would pass identical legislation when it returns in November.
The legislation already has significant support in the Senate. Slotkin said earlier that she understood the support to stand at 99 senators to one, although the requirement for unanimous consent means a single senator can prevent the fast-track procedure from moving forward.
The bill also has more than 100 co-sponsors in the House, while the United Auto Workers, Teamsters, International Association of Machinists, United Steelworkers and the Vehicle Suppliers Association have backed it.
The immediate dispute with Paul matters because the sponsors are seeking to convert restrictions that currently rely substantially on executive and regulatory action into a permanent statutory prohibition. The legislation would restrict Chinese-origin vehicles and connected vehicle technologies from the US market and limit the ability of future administrations to waive the restrictions.
A Collision Between Congress and Trump’s Approach to China
The legislative push has gained momentum as Trump has signaled a willingness to consider a different approach to Chinese auto manufacturing.
Earlier this month, Trump said he would be comfortable with Chinese automakers building vehicles in the United States, provided they employ American workers.
“If China wanted to come in and open a plant to build their cars here, I’d be okay with that,” Trump said in a Fox News interview.
He also said he did not want Chinese companies building cars in Mexico and exporting them into the United States.
That position has created a significant policy question for the legislation.
The Senate bill is designed to restrict Chinese vehicles and connected technologies across the production and sales chain. Its sponsors argue that allowing Chinese automakers to establish US manufacturing operations could still create national-security and economic risks if Chinese companies retain control of the vehicles, software, or data systems.
The bill was introduced by Moreno and Slotkin in April as the Connected Vehicle Security Act of 2026. It would prohibit the import, sale, and operation of vehicles manufactured in China or other countries of concern and restrict Chinese-developed connected-vehicle technologies, including software and data systems, on US roads.
The sponsors have framed the issue around two separate concerns: the security implications of connected vehicles and the competitive pressure Chinese automakers could place on US manufacturers.
Moreno has noted that China produces almost four times as many cars as the United States and that Congress must prevent American auto jobs from being placed at risk by Chinese companies.
Slotkin has been similarly direct about her position.
“I think if President Trump allows in these Chinese companies, it is beginning of the end of the auto industry in the United States,” she said.
Those are political arguments made by the bill’s sponsors, rather than established outcomes. The legislation itself is based on concerns about vehicle data, connected technologies and the competitive position of US automakers.
The auto industry’s position is clearer. Six major automotive trade groups representing automakers and suppliers recently urged Trump to maintain restrictions preventing Chinese automakers from selling, importing or manufacturing vehicles in the United States. The groups cited concerns over American jobs, national security, and the competitive advantages available to Chinese manufacturers.
The disagreement therefore goes beyond whether Chinese vehicles should be imported. It is more about whether Chinese companies should be allowed to establish manufacturing capacity inside the United States.
The Mercedes Problem
One of the most complicated elements of the proposed legislation involves ownership.
Senator Ted Cruz said earlier that the bill would prohibit companies with more than 15% ownership by Chinese entities from selling vehicles in the United States. That threshold could potentially affect Mercedes-Benz, given the nearly 20% stake held by Chinese investors.
Moreno has said Mercedes would have until 2030 to comply and could receive waivers where necessary. Slotkin said discussions over how Mercedes could comply were continuing.
The issue shows that drafted restrictions on Chinese ownership are broadly extending beyond Chinese-branded automakers.
Mercedes is a German company, but its ownership structure includes significant Chinese investment. A rule based on ownership rather than brand origin or manufacturing location could therefore affect multinational automakers with Chinese shareholders even if the vehicles themselves are designed, manufactured, and sold through established Western operations.
That could become an important issue as Congress considers how to define a “Chinese” vehicle or company in an industry where global ownership and supply chains are deeply interconnected.
From Tariffs to A Permanent Prohibition
The proposed legislation would build on restrictions already imposed by Washington.
The Biden administration introduced regulations in early 2025 that effectively barred Chinese automakers from selling or building passenger vehicles in the US based on concerns that connected-vehicle technologies could transmit sensitive data to China. The United States also maintains tariffs of more than 100% on Chinese electric vehicles.
Those measures have already made direct entry by Chinese EV manufacturers extremely difficult. The congressional legislation would make the restrictions more durable by placing them in statute and preventing the White House from simply reversing them or granting waivers to Chinese manufacturers.
The move has become necessary because executive policy can change with a new administration. A law passed by Congress would establish a much more durable barrier to Chinese automakers entering the American market.
The bill’s supporters are therefore attempting to settle the issue legislatively before the administration has the opportunity to negotiate a different arrangement with Beijing.
That urgency helps explain the timing of Thursday’s attempted fast-track vote. The effort was initially scheduled to coincide with Trump’s meeting with Xi, when the future of US-China trade policy was already under intense scrutiny. The decision to delay the vote means the legislation will now move into a week of negotiations with Paul while the outcome of the broader US-China discussions remains relevant to the political debate.
The Bigger Issue is Control of The US Auto Market
China’s emergence as the world’s largest vehicle manufacturing base has transformed the competitive landscape. Chinese manufacturers have expanded rapidly outside their home market, particularly in electric vehicles, batteries, and other automotive technologies.
US policymakers now face a question that is broader than conventional import competition: should Chinese companies be allowed to establish a direct manufacturing presence in the American market and compete from inside the country?
That question has become more complicated because modern vehicles are software-defined and connected. Cars can collect location, usage, and other information, communicate with external systems, and receive software updates remotely. Washington’s restrictions are thus partly rooted in the treatment of vehicles as connected technology platforms rather than simply manufactured goods.
The proposed legislation takes that concern further by targeting not only finished vehicles but also connected hardware and software associated with Chinese companies.