U.S. Auto Industry Jointly Urges Trump: Block Chinese Automakers from Entering the U.S. Market
nashnova research
A broad coalition of US automakers wrote to President Trump on September 17, demanding that existing barriers blocking Chinese vehicles stay in place and that Chinese carmakers be barred from building factories on US soil. This means → on the eve of a Trump–Xi summit, America's auto industry is trying to bolt the door shut.
Who signed and what do they want?
Signatories include the Alliance for Automotive Innovation — representing Ford, GM, Toyota, and Volkswagen — plus the American Automotive Policy Council and the National Automobile Dealers Association.
Core demand: maintain current barriers and block Chinese carmakers from establishing US production facilities.
The letter states: "Localized Chinese production would not advance the administration's manufacturing-jobs or national-security agenda."
In plain terms = even if a Chinese automaker hires American workers and builds on American soil, the industry says no — they see it as handing a competitor a foothold.
Why send this letter now?
Trump and Xi Jinping plan to meet at a summit next week. The letter's timing is deliberately pre-emptive.
The trigger: Bloomberg reported this week that Chinese officials are considering adding BYD to the business delegation accompanying Xi's US visit. The list is not yet finalized.
Trump recently suggested he might accept Chinese carmakers building EVs in the US with American workers; earlier this year in Detroit he said he would "very much welcome" it.
This means → the industry's fear is not the status quo — it is that Trump might make a concession at the summit. The letter is, in effect, an attempt to close that door in advance.
Where does BYD stand in the US?
BYD has been placed on the Pentagon's list of companies with alleged ties to China's military. BYD denies the allegations.
BYD already operates an electric-bus manufacturing plant in California — it is not entirely absent from US production.
This reflects a contradiction: BYD is flagged as a security risk on one hand, yet already has a manufacturing presence on US soil on the other.
What barriers exist today — and what more does the industry want?
Chinese vehicles are currently blocked by two walls: tariffs of roughly 100%, and a Commerce Department ban on "connected-vehicle systems" — networking-capable hardware and software in cars that may pose data-security risks — from adversary nations.
The industry says that is not enough. It wants Congress to write a permanent legislative ban on Chinese vehicles and connected-vehicle technology.
Several bills are moving forward, including the Securing Connected Vehicles Act, which cleared a Senate committee in July.
In plain terms = tariffs and executive orders can be reversed by the next president. Only a law nails the door shut for good.
What to watch next?
This letter merges two lobbying tracks — the White House and Congress — pressing both at once.
The key signal: whether Trump makes a clear statement on Chinese carmakers building in the US during the summit with Xi.
On the legislative side: the Alliance for Automotive Innovation has asked Congress to finish legislating a ban on Chinese connected vehicles and related hardware/software before the current session ends in January.
This means → the next few months are a policy window — the summit outcome and Congress's legislative pace will together determine whether Chinese automakers have any path into the US market.
市场有风险，内容仅供研究参考，不构成投资建议。