Will Autos be on the Table When Trump Lands in China?

Lawmakers have proposed a Chinese auto import ban via legislation, even if market access is mistakenly granted.

President Trump is in Beijing Wednesday and Thursday for a state visit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping – the first by an American president since 2024. Will he grant China the access to the American auto market it desires?

If you read the topline previews of this choreographed affair, Chinese auto imports aren’t listed among the topics of discussion. But trade is and, as we all know, the president styles himself as the ultimate dealmaker. He’s bringing over a dozen CEOs with him, not because they’re good conversationalists but because there’s business to be done. And China wants to sell its cars in the United States.

We’ll have made a grave mistake if its companies are allowed to do so. These gargantuan firms are the result of decades of state planning and support. Their cars are sold at cut-throat prices because of it. They’re encouraged to seek foreign markets by moribund domestic sales and a pile of government export enticements. And, what’s more, they’re vertically integrated. Even if a deal to let Chinese vehicles be sold in the U.S. includes a local assembly requirement, these companies aren’t going to just assume a spot at the top of the American automotive supply chain; they’re more likely to supplant it with their own.

In effect, their arrival here would signal the beginning of a second China Shock: A flood of imports from low-cost Chinese manufacturers that displaces millions of American manufacturing jobs in the years to come. This time, it will be in the automotive and auto parts industry, currently home to roughly 11 million jobs and over $800 billion in annual pay, and it will destabilize economies and politics in entire states. Car prices in the United States are too high, yes. Putting the viability of the domestic auto sector at risk to gain temporarily cheaper options is not a wise long-term trade.

China is not a market economy, and its automakers are not adhering to the same rules of the road. And, just they’re rightly calling on the president to not use the American shipbuilding industry as a trade chit in bilateral talks with Chinese leadership, lawmakers from both parties are calling on him to not even crack the door on auto market access.

Others still are taking matters into their own hands to block China’s entry. Sens. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) have proposed a bill to make permanent a ban on Chinese software and hardware in vehicles; that ban currently exists as a U.S. Commerce Department rule, first instituted by the Biden administration, that’s keeping Chinese auto imports at bay. Companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives was just introduced by Reps. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) and Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.).

The Alliance for American Manufacturing supports that effort and you should too. Will Trump allow China into the auto market? Maybe. So tell Congress to make permanent a ban on Chinese auto software and hardware in the meantime.