Lawmakers and US auto industry unite against opening market to Chinese cars

The American auto industry and lawmakers from both parties have united to block any attempts by Donald Trump to open the market to Chinese cars during the upcoming summit with Xi Jinping, as reported by Reuters.

The escalation of lobbying efforts was sparked by the US president's January comments in Detroit, where he suggested the possibility of Chinese factories being built in the United States. After years of erecting barriers such as tariffs and data security checks, the industry viewed these remarks as a threat of a "bad deal" with Beijing.

Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and a bipartisan group of 126 lawmakers are promoting legislation that classifies Chinese vehicles as "mobile data collection devices." According to the bill’s authors, modern cars record real-time infrastructure and citizen movements, making their import unacceptable from an intelligence standpoint.

US manufacturers, ranging from steelmakers to car dealers, are further alarmed by statistics from Europe and Mexico. In EU nations, the market share of Chinese brands doubled within a year, reaching 14% in Norway and 11% in the UK. In Mexico, the expansion of 34 brands from China has already captured 15% of the market.

With the average price of a new car in the US exceeding $51,000, affordable Chinese models pose an existential threat to Detroit. Unions and industry leaders are concerned that Trump might trade protections for the domestic market in exchange for promises from China to invest in job creation in "swing" states.

The US administration is attempting to de-escalate tensions. According to Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, the topic of the auto industry is not on the agenda for negotiations. However, there remains a lack of trust within the industry. Businesses worry that the president is keeping "room to maneuver" for a headline-grabbing commitment to attract foreign investments. The business community is clear: any Chinese investment in the sector is seen as a Trojan horse threatening the American industrial base.