President Trump Says He's Open To Chinese EVs. But Only If They're Made Here

During a segment on Fox News, Trump said he'd be okay with them if they were made domestically. But current laws make that tough.

Photo by: GAC

By: Kevin Williams

Sep 14, at 6:02pm ET

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On Fox News, Trump said he'd be OK with Chinese car brands making vehicles here for sale.
However, there is still a 100% tariff on Chinese-made cars, and a ban on cars that use Chinese-developed software and hardware.
The news has attracted the ire of some politicians, including Michigan senator Elissa Slotkin.

If you’re a Chinese automaker with eyes on the U.S. market, it hasn’t been such a great time for you. What once felt like an inevitable step in the late 2010s has quickly turned into a country protecting its home manufacturing base. Tariffs make importing uncompetitive, while software and hardware bans for anything developed in China make sales infeasible. It's safe to say that U.S.-China relations are pretty frosty, and it wasn't looking like they were going to get better anytime soon.

But last Friday, while on Fox News’ Ingraham Angle, Trump said he would be open to Chinese automakers coming to the U.S., so long as they build the cars here.

“If China wanted to come in and open a plant to build their cars here, I'd be okay with that," Trump said. "Japan does it, but they hire our people. The big thing is they hire our people.” However, he wasn’t OK with these brands using Mexico to build cars and ship them here, and circumvent any sort of trade rules, he said.

On one hand, this feels very incongruent considering the U.S. has been somewhat bipartisan in its opposition to Chinese cars ever coming to the U.S., even if they’re built here. Last week, Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy explicitly went after Ford, which has a licensing deal with Chinese battery manufacturer CATL for its Michigan facility. Ford has a battery plant here in the U.S., which used hires American workers to produce batteries using designs and expertise licensed from CATL. Yet, the scathing letter went out of its way to deride Ford’s involvement with China. This is hot on the heels of Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin sounding the alarm that there could be a package to accept Chinese cars in the U.S. as part of a deal with China. Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit the U.S. and meet with Trump later this month.

That rumored package isn’t great news for Slotkin, who in part sponsored the bill that wants to flat-out ban Chinese cars from ever being sold in the U.S. Still, even without her bill, there’s a slightly softer effective ban put in place by the Department of Commerce. If a car has hardware or software developed by Chinese firms, then it can’t be sold in the U.S., starting in 2027 for software and 2030 for hardware. That rule isn’t just for show, either. It’s the reason why Polestar was banned in the U.S., and why Mercedes-Benz may be embroiled in a battle with the U.S. government. So, despite what Trump says, the infrastructure in place doesn’t allow for Chinese cars to come here.

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On the other hand, Trump has openly talked about wanting a better relationship with China. Sure, he may talk a lot about trade deficits, or spying, or China’s role in the Iran war, but in the same breath he’s extolled President Xi in the past. Also, Trump’s comments aren’t new. In 2024 during his campaign, Trump was open to the idea that Chinese cars could be sold here, so long as they’re made here in the U.S. Perhaps things will cool off between the two countries.

Whether or not Chinese cars will come to the U.S. will be seen in a few weeks. For better or worse, some of Trump's more left-field promises end up coming true. There may be political resistance to Chinese cars, but if Trump gives the go-ahead, I wouldn’t be surprised if the U.S. suddenly lets them come.