Chinese-made cars wait to be loaded onto car carrier ships at a port in Yantai, in China's eastern Shandong province on Monday. AFP-Yonhap

WASHINGTON — More than 70 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday urged President Donald Trump not to permit Chinese automakers to build or sell cars in the United States.

The lawmakers, led by Representative Debbie Dingell and Ro Khanna, urged Trump to keep a ban in place that has the strong backing of U.S. and foreign carmakers and other auto groups. Earlier this month, three Democratic senators made a similar push ahead of Trump's planned summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping next month.

"We must not cede the American auto industry to a strategic competitor intent on global dominance," the letter said. "We urge you to take clear and decisive action to ensure that Chinese automakers are not permitted to enter the United States market in any capacity."

The Biden administration imposed sweeping regulations that effectively ban Chinese automakers from selling passenger vehicles in the United States in January 2025, citing national security concerns linked to the ability of vehicles to collect sensitive data on American owners.

High tariff barriers also exist for Chinese autos, but U.S. consumers have become more interested in the vehicles, according to recent surveys.

The White House said this month "while the administration is always working to secure more investment into America’s industrial resurgence, any notion that we would ever compromise our national security to do so is baseless and false."

In January, Trump said he was open to Chinese automakers building vehicles in the United States. "If they want to come in and build a plant and hire you and hire your friends and your neighbors, that’s great, I love that,” he told the Detroit Economic Club.

Last month, auto trade groups representing nearly all major car companies urged the U.S. government to keep Chinese carmakers out of the country. Last month, Republican Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio said he will propose legislation to seal off the United States so "there's never a scenario where a Chinese automobile will enter our market, that's hardware, that's software, that's partnerships."

Source: Korea Times News