The Biden administration shut the door on Chinese vehicles in the United States. Now, lawmakers from both major parties want to make that decision permanent. A bipartisan bill would make the ban imposed by the 46th president law, and its sponsors hope to clear the Senate as early as this week.
The bill has the backing of 51 senators, the majority needed to pass
The House version has more than 100 co-sponsors
The White House would lose the power to grant exemptions to Chinese automakers
Democrats and Republicans on the Same Page
Seeing Democrats and Republicans agree on anything is a rare sight these days. Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Republican Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio are leading the effort, in two states where, needless to say, the auto industry carries serious weight. The goal is to secure unanimous consent, which would considerably fast-track passage.
A handful of Republican senators have reportedly voiced reservations, however.
For Slotkin, the issue goes beyond party lines: nobody on the left or the right wants to see Chinese cars on American roads.
The timing is no coincidence. Donald Trump is hosting Xi Jinping in Washington this week for trade talks, and Beijing is fiercely opposed to the ban and to any attempt to make it permanent. On top of that, Trump said on Fox News, on September 8, that he would welcome Chinese automakers building vehicles on American soil.
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That remark raised more than a few eyebrows in Detroit. Slotkin sees it as nothing less than the beginning of the end for auto manufacturing in the United States.
The Industry Closes Ranks
Six industry groups representing automakers including GM, Ford, Stellantis, Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai and Tesla have written to the president, urging him to keep that door firmly shut. In their view, Chinese capital wouldn’t create jobs; it would simply shift them to companies controlled by the Chinese state.
Keep in mind that the current ban rests on national security grounds. Connectivity systems (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, cellular and satellite communications) could send data on American drivers straight back to Beijing.
This story is far from over.
