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More than 70 House Dems call on Trump to keep Chinese automakers out of US

by Ashleigh Fields - 04/28/26 9:16 PM ET

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by Ashleigh Fields - 04/28/26 9:16 PM ET

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More than 70 Democrats in the House signed on to a Tuesday letter urging President Trump to block Chinese automakers from saturating the U.S. car market.

Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell (D) led the effort with support from 73 colleagues ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping next month in Beijing.

In the letter, lawmakers flagged China’s advantages in low-cost production, achieved through exploitative labor practices and suppressed wages, which they said create “structural advantages that no American company operating under fair labor standards can match.”

The group of House Democrats said Beijing has dominated 62 percent of the global electric vehicle market, noting that the country exported 8 million vehicles last year, expanding its sales in South America, the Middle East, Europe and other emerging markets.

“China is actively positioning itself to bypass U.S. trade protections by expanding its presence in North America. In Mexico, Chinese vehicle imports have surged from 2021 to 2025. In Canada, recent policy changes have significantly lowered tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, allowing tens of thousands of vehicles into the Canadian market annually under a quota system, potentially reaching 70,000 vehicles per year by 2030,” lawmakers wrote.

“These developments raise serious concerns that Chinese automobiles could establish a foothold in Canada and seek to move into the United States market, and these trends create a clear and urgent risk that Chinese automakers are looking to use Canada and Mexico as a backdoor into the United States under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA),” they added.

In January, Canada agreed to drop its 100 percent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) and raised its cap on EV imports in exchange for Beijing lowering tariffs on Canadian farm products, including canola seeds.

Democrats say future partnerships could threaten American manufacturing and the U.S. auto industry.

“Chinese-owned or controlled vehicles, regardless of where they are assembled, must not be permitted to enter our market through USMCA or any other mechanism. Allowing such circumvention would undermine existing tariffs, weaken trade enforcement, and erode policies designed to support domestic manufacturing,” Democrats wrote.

“There are real national security implications, as today’s vehicles are increasingly connected, capable of collecting and transmitting sensitive data about drivers, infrastructure, and surrounding environments. The U.S. Department of Commerce has already recognized the risks posed by Chinese-connected vehicle technologies, including the potential for surveillance, data exploitation, and remote interference,” they added, noting that risks are “inherent” and cannot be mitigated once embedded into the country’s transportation network.

Lawmakers said they want Trump to make it clear that Chinese automakers are not permitted to enter the United States market in any capacity.

Those who signed the letter include Democratic Reps. Gabe Amo (R.I.), Joyce Beatty (Ohio), Wesley Bell (Mo.), Brendan Boyle (Pa.), Shontel Brown (Ohio), Nikki Budzinski (D-IL-13), Janelle Bynum (Ore.), Salud Carbajal (Calif.), André Carson (Ind.), Troy Carter (La.), Gilbert Cisneros (Calif.), Yvette Clarke (N.Y.), Steve Cohen (Tenn.), Lou Correa (Calif.), Jasmine Crockett (Texas), Sharice Davids (Kan.), Donald Davis (N.C.), Rosa DeLauro (Conn.), Christopher DeLuzio (Pa.), Sarah Elfreth (Md.), Veronica Escobar (Texas), Lizzie Fletcher (Texas), John Garamendi (Calif.), Laura Gillen (N.Y.), Jimmy Gomez (Calif.), Steven Horsford (Nev.), Chrissy Houlahan (Pa.), Val Hoyle (Ore.), Jonathan Jackson (Ill.), Julie Johnson (Texas), Marcy Kaptur (Ohio), Robin Kelly (Ill.), Timothy Kennedy (N.Y.), Ro Khanna (Calif.), Greg Landsman (Ohio), John Larson (Conn.), George Latimer (N.Y.), Susie Lee (Nev.), Stephen Lynch (Mass.), John Mannion (N.Y.), Jennifer McClellan (Va.), Kristen McDonald Rivet (Mich.), Morgan McGarvey (Ken.), Robert Menendez (N.J.), Joseph Morelle (N.Y.), Jared Moskowitz (Fla.), Frank Mrvan (Ind.), Donald Norcross (N.J.), Scott Peters (Calif.), Mark Pocan (Wisc.), Nellie Pou (N.J.), Emily Randall (Wash.), Jamie Raskin (Md.), Josh Riley (N.Y.), Raul Ruiz (Calif.), Andrea Salinas (Ore.), Janice Schakowsky (Ill.), Hillary Scholten (Mich.), Terri Sewell (Ala.), Eric Sorensen (Ill.), Darren Soto (Fla.), Greg Stanton (Ariz.), Haley Stevens (Mich.), Marilyn Strickland (Wash.), Thomas Suozzi (N.Y.), Emilia Sykes (Ohio), Shri Thanedar (Mich.), Bennie Thompson (Miss.), Paul Tonko (N.Y.), Ritchie Torres (N.Y.), Derek Tran (Calif.), Marc Veasey (Texas), and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (