Democrats urge Trump to keep ban on Chinese automakers in place

More than 70 House Democrats called on President Trump Tuesday to maintain a Biden-era ban on Chinese automakers, warning that allowing them into the U.S. market would hand a "strategic competitor" control of the American auto industry.

The bipartisan pressure comes as Trump has signaled openness to Chinese automakers opening U.S. factories and as the White House prepares for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in May, raising questions about whether trade negotiations could weaken the national-security-based restrictions.

The letter, led by Representatives Debbie Dingell and Ro Khanna, urges Trump to take "clear and decisive action" to ensure Chinese automakers cannot enter the U.S. market "in any capacity," according to The Korea Times. "We must not cede the American auto industry to a strategic competitor intent on global dominance," the letter said.

The Biden administration imposed sweeping regulations effectively banning Chinese automakers in January 2025, citing national security concerns that vehicles could collect sensitive data on American owners. Auto trade groups representing nearly all major carmakers support the ban.

Trump clouded the picture in January 2026 when he said he was open to Chinese companies building U.S. plants. "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," Trump said.

The White House moved to reassure critics 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," the White House said, according to The Korea Times.

Republican Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio proposed legislation last month to permanently seal the U.S. market from Chinese vehicles. "There's never a scenario where a Chinese automobile will enter our market, that's hardware, that's software, that's partnerships," Moreno said.

Recent surveys show growing U.S. consumer interest in Chinese vehicles, adding economic complexity to a debate centered almost entirely on national security since the Biden administration imposed the ban last year.