President Donald Trump said he would be willing to let Chinese automakers build cars inside the United States, provided the factories hire American workers, a stance that has drawn immediate criticism from lawmakers and the domestic auto industry.
"If China wanted to come in and open a plant to build their cars here, I'd be okay with that," Trump said in an interview with Fox News. He attached a condition: "Japan does it, but they hire our people. The big thing is they hire our people."
Trump made clear his openness would not extend to Chinese companies building factories in Mexico and then shipping the vehicles into the United States. He said he did not want to see Chinese automakers manufacturing cars in Mexico for export to American consumers. "I'm not knocking Chinese cars," he added.
Backlash online and in Congress
The remarks quickly drew criticism on social media, with some users warning that Chinese manufacturers could overwhelm American carmakers if allowed to set up factories in the US. "If you allow them to, they will come in bunches and destroy our auto industry," one person wrote on X, pointing to China's highly competitive manufacturing sector.
Another predicted that putting Chinese vehicles on American roads was ultimately Beijing's goal, warning that "the US auto industry could die out - perhaps within a year." Other critics pointed to Trump's tariffs on Canada and Mexico, with one writing that the same logic should apply to Chinese plants built in those countries, and another suggesting Trump was acting to stop China from building a plant in Canada first.
Trump is due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington in two weeks. Democratic Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin, whose state is a hub of the American auto industry, said she had heard rumors that Trump was planning to allow Chinese cars to be sold in the US as part of a larger deal. "That would be a strategic mistake," she said.
Trump responded by calling Slotkin's claim a "total phony rumor" and said he had kept Chinese vehicles out of the country. He later indicated he could accept Chinese-owned manufacturers producing vehicles inside the US and employing American workers, rather than importing Chinese-built vehicles.
Industry pushes for a ban
The debate comes as America's auto industry is pressing Washington in the opposite direction. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Honda and Stellantis, urged congressional leaders last week to enact a permanent ban on the sale, import and manufacture of Chinese connected vehicles, hardware and software before the end of the current Congress.
Alliance president and chief executive John Bozzella said Chinese automakers were "dumping subsidized vehicles with connected software and hardware around the world," capturing market share across Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia, Mexico and South America. He warned the vehicles are capable of "collecting, processing and transmitting sensitive vehicle and consumer data to the Chinese Communist Party."
"This hasn't happened inside the US 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," Bozzella wrote. He argued that legislation, rather than administrative policy, was needed so the restrictions could not be easily reversed by a future administration, saying a permanent ban in the 119th Congress would send "a clear and bipartisan message" in response to China's strategy to dominate global automotive manufacturing.
Existing barriers to Chinese vehicles
Chinese vehicles already face steep barriers to the American market. Washington maintains tariffs of more than 100 percent on Chinese electric vehicles, while rules finalized by the Biden administration in January 2025 restrict connected vehicles and technology with links to China or Russia on national-security grounds, amid fears that such vehicles could gather sensitive data or give foreign adversaries remote access. Those rules began phasing in from March 2025 depending on vehicle model year and the type of software or hardware involved.
Trump's comments raise the prospect of a different approach: rather than blocking Chinese-made vehicles assembled abroad, Chinese companies could be welcomed to manufacture inside the US if their investment creates American jobs.
