Senators Urge Trump To Ban China Building Cars In The U.S.

Reuters reports that three Democratic senators have sent a blunt warning to Donald Trump: keep Chinese automakers out of the United States, or face an irreversible crisis. The letter, signed by Tammy Baldwin, Elissa Slotkin, and Chuck Schumer, asks the president to ban Chinese companies from making vehicles on American soil and block their cars assembled in Mexico or Canada from crossing the border. The request directly contradicts Trump’s own words in January, when he told the Detroit Economic Club, “If they want to come in and build factories and employ you and employ your friends and neighbors, that’s great, I’d love that.”

Senators saw no merit in the deal. “We must be clear-headed,” they wrote. “Inviting Chinese automakers to set up factories in the United States would provide American automakers with enormous economic benefits that would be impossible to overcome, and it would trigger a national security crisis that will never be overcome.” The Biden administration has imposed a total ban on Chinese passenger vehicles by 2025, citing concerns about data collection. Automotive trade groups, including those representing General Motors, strongly supported the move. Now senators want Trump to go further and officially designate BYD and other Chinese manufacturers as entities with ties to the military.

Republican Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio is planning his own legislation to shut down the US market completely. “There was never a scenario where Chinese cars would enter our market,” Moreno said. “That’s hardware, that’s software, that’s partnerships.” The White House offered a measured answer, stating that while the administration is seeking industrial investment, “any notion that we would jeopardize our national security to do so is baseless and false.” The Chinese Embassy did not immediately comment, but earlier this week it accused the United States of “trade protectionism” and discriminatory subsidy policies.

Senators rejected the promise of some jobs in the chamber as a bad trade that would result in long-term losses. Detroit should take note: the next battle over who makes America’s cars has arrived.