American automakers urge Congress to ban Chinese vehicle sales in U.S.

A trade group representing American automakers is urging Congress to permanently bar the sale of Chinese vehicles in the U.S. 

In a letter to senior lawmakers, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation on Thursday called on them to “enact a permanent ban on the sale, import and manufacture of Chinese connected vehicles, hardware and software” in the U.S., citing China’s alleged unfair trade practices, intellectual property theft and pattern of surveillance. 

“This behavior is a feature of the Chinese approach and especially acute when it comes to China’s strategy to dominate global automotive manufacturing and critical supply chains,” wrote the group’s president and CEO, John Bozzella. 

Bozzella also said that non-Chinese automakers are unfairly disadvantaged by China’s industrial and manufacturing policy, which the car industry group said threatens to undermine the U.S. automotive manufacturing sector. 

U.S. automakers face mounting competition from Chinese rivals, including BYD, which is exporting more low-cost vehicles worldwide. 

China has made particular headway in electric vehicles, where it is the world’s largest EV market and a growing exporter. Under a January trade deal with Canada, for example, China’s Geely Auto Group will be allowed to sell tens of thousands of EVs in the country every year, with Canadian tariffs set to drop from 100% to just 6%.

“China is capturing market share in Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia, Mexico and South America with vehicles capable of collecting, processing and transmitting sensitive vehicle and consumer data to the Chinese Communist Party,” Bozzella wrote. 

“This hasn’t happened inside the U.S. yet, but given the scale and urgency of this threat, we urge you to enact a Chinese vehicle, software and hardware ban before adjourning this year and make this policy the law of the land,” he added.