American politicians have urged President Donald Trump to keep Chinese car makers out of the US, citing concerns around cybersecurity, competition and the future of the nation’s automotive workforce.
Democrat and Republican representatives have joined forces to put forward the Connected Vehicle Security Act, a law intended to block the sale of Chinese cars in the US.
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It follows a similar push supported by former President Joe Biden in his last weeks in office.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who represents 500,000 people employed in the car industry in Detroit and its surrounding region, supported the bill and said the US car industry “is vital to our national economy”.
“I’m proud of the work we’ve done to bring manufacturing back home from overseas, but all of that is at risk if we let cheap, government-subsidised Chinese vehicles into our country,” she said.
“Right now, that’s exactly what’s happening in Europe, Canada, and Mexico. Companies that can’t compete with vehicles subsidised by China are selling fewer cars, closing factories, and cutting jobs,”
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President Trump worried the US car industry in January when he gave a speech at the Detroit Economic Club saying the US could “let China come in”, but only “if they want to come in and build a plant and hire you and hire your friends and your neighbours”.
“That’s great, I love that,” he said.
Car makers already established in the US responded with a joint message outlining “serious concerns about China’s ongoing efforts to dominate global automotive manufacturing and to gain access to the US market”.
Critics of the push to ban China’s EVs in America say motorists deserve the opportunity to choose the car that bests suits them, and that US giants such as Ford and General Motors should work harder to be competitive with overseas models.
American news outlets quoted a rebuke from China’s embassy to the US at the time, that called for officials to “stop overstretching the concept of national security, cease discriminatory and exclusionary measures, and provide a fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory business environment”.
The proposed laws come as President Trump leads a trade delegation to China tasked with negotiating better business conditions for American companies.
Automotive lobbyists have urged the President to remain firm on trade barriers preventing Chinese brands from gaining a foothold in the US.
A group of 74 House Democrats wrote an open letter saying Chinese cars would “pose a direct threat to American manufacturing, workers, and national security. This must remain a firm and non-negotiable priority”.
US reporter Paul Eisenstein told CBS News “nobody wants to be in a position, for example, that a Chinese EV stops running on the middle of the highway because of a trade war or worse between the US and China”.
The Washington Post is pitching cars as “the next TikTok”, referencing a debate surrounding privacy, security, and foreign-owned social media that gripped the US last year.
Others have said opening the US to China’s cars would amount to a modern day ‘Trojan Horse’.
China became Australia’s number one source of new cars in February. While often associated with domestic brands such as GWM and MG, China also exports thousands of cars to Australia for manufacturers such as Tesla, Hyundai, Kia, Volvo and BMW, with others such as Mazda and Ford soon to join the trend.
Australia’s open approach to cars from China contributed to landmark visits from Ford and General Motors executives in March. Ford chief executive Jim Farley got behind the wheel of models sold here, but not the US, and told us that “I’m here to compete and beat the Chinese”.
