Photo credit: Qilai Shen, Bloomberg
Lifting Restrictions on Chinese Cars Could Devastate U.S. Auto Industry | Opinion
May 12, 2026
The Detroit News
May 10, 2026
Sandy K. Baruah and Glenn Stevens Jr.
President Donald Trump unveiled his “America First Trade Policy” in January 2025, which ignited a global trade war with China and other nations. A year later, he indicated he may “let China come in” to build and sell its vehicles in the U.S.
If current restrictions ― agreed by both the Biden and Trump Administrations ― on Chinese vehicles entering our market were to be lifted, these vehicles would likely quickly gain considerable market share as they have done in Europe, South America and other markets. It could devastate the U.S. automotive supply industry and employment base.
For over two decades, China has been cunningly building its automotive market with vast state subsidies, uncompetitive labor practices and the monopolization of raw materials and refining capacity, to unfairly dominate the global market, not compete in it. Chinese EVs now account for 62% of all EV sales worldwide, and overall vehicle production has surged by 500% since 2004.
The Chinese have strategically created and leveraged government-controlled practices that have yielded an unfair playing field. The globe is seeing this dynamic play out in real time. Unlike America’s European, Japanese and Korean trading partners, China has entered the global automotive market with unprecedented government support and subsidies. Its government policies have led to significant over production, which results in Chinese-made vehicles being “dumped” at below market prices across the globe — we must not allow that here.