U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) warned against the possibility of President Trump meeting with the president of the Chinese electric automobile company BYD at the White House during his summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
[Note: The U.S. currently has a 100 percent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles, which effectively prices them out of the U.S. market, but Trump said during a Fox News interview earlier this month that he would allow Chinese automakers to build manufacturing plants in the U.S. if they hire American workers. He said: “If China wanted to come in and open a plant to build their cars here, I would be okay with it. Japan does it, but they hire our people.”]
Trump: If China wanted to come in and open a plant to build their cars here, I would be okay with it. pic.twitter.com/bqfVuAAKNf
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 11, 2026
Slotkin wrote on social media: “As always, watch what the President does, not what he says. If the President of BYD comes with the Chinese President to the White House next week, we can only assume there are deals afoot to allow Chinese cars to be imported, or Chinese companies are being invited to set up shop in the U.S. President Trump said that he would welcome Chinese car companies as recently as last week.”
As always, watch what the President does, not what he says. If the President of BYD comes with the Chinese President to the White House next week, we can only assume there are deals afoot to allow Chinese cars to be imported, or Chinese companies are being invited to set up shop…
— Sen. Elissa Slotkin (@SenatorSlotkin) September 17, 2026
Slotkin added, “That would be a terrible outcome for Michigan and the 1.2 million jobs in our state associated with the auto industry. The Chinese have been working for years to get that first foothold into the U.S. market.
“Chinese car companies are propped up by the Chinese government and once they they get the green-light to enter the U.S., they will undercut our manufacturers and suppliers, wreak havoc on our industry, and take our jobs.”
José Muñoz, CEO of Hyundai, is also warning that if Trump allows Chinese vehicles to be sold in the U.S., it could disrupt the U.S. auto market as it has in Europe. Muñoz says that governments should maintain tariffs and market-access safeguards against Chinese automakers.
Hyundai Motor CEO Jose Muñoz warned that the U.S. could face a similar wave of Chinese auto imports that has disrupted Europe’s car market unless Washington maintains tariffs and other market access safeguards.
Chinese automakers have rapidly expanded in Europe, eroding the… pic.twitter.com/i6UL4h3gCe
— Automotive News (@Automotive_News) September 18, 2026
[NOTE: Chinese cars are sold for 30 to 40 percent less than European rival models in some markets, including Spain and Italy, and already hold 15 percent of new vehicle registrations in the UK. The Wall Street Journal reported that “Volkswagen is facing a severe financial and operational crisis as fast-moving Chinese electric vehicle (EV) competitors like BYD and Xpeng erode its market dominance and force massive structural overhauls.” The German automaker recently said it plans to cut up to 100,000 jobs globally.]
Ford CEO Jim Farley also warned against allowing Chinese automakers into the U.S. market — “we should not let them into our country,” Farley said. But he also revealed that Ford is preparing for Chinese brands to arrive in the U.S. in the next five to 10 years.
Farley said, “Manufacturing is the heart and soul of our country and for us to lose that to those exports would be devastating for our country.” He added, “That doesn’t even include the cyber and privacy risks of a Chinese vehicle. All the vehicles have 10 cameras, they can collect a lot of data. There’s no way this is a fair fight.”
