Toyota, GM, VW and more factories call for permanent ban on Chinese cars in the United States

An association representing General Motors, Volkswagen, Toyota and other major automakers has called on the United States Congress to approve a permanent ban on Chinese vehicles later this year. The information is from Reuters.

The appeal was made on Monday (2), according to the agency, before the resumption of legislative work scheduled for next week, after the mid-term elections in the USA.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which brings together almost all the main manufacturers, wants parliamentarians to take advantage of the short voting period to complete the analysis of the proposal.

The entity argues that the entry of these cars threatens both national security and the investments made by automakers in the country.

Automakers that are part of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation in the United States:

Aston Martin; BMW; Bugatti; Ferrari; Ford; GM; Honda; Hyundai; Isuzu; Jaguar/Land Rover; Kia; Mazda; McLaren; Mercedes-Benz; Mitsubishi; Nissan; Porsche; Stellantis; Subaru; Toyota; Volkswagen Group (Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley); Volvo.

“We need to protect the U.S. market from a flood of Chinese imports that bring surveillance risk and disadvantage current manufacturers who have made far-reaching investments in American communities,” said John Bozzella, president of the association.

The United States already has restrictions that, in practice, prevent Chinese automakers from selling or manufacturing passenger cars in the country.

The regulation was adopted at the beginning of 2025, during the Joe Biden government, given the risk of sending drivers' sensitive data to China.

In addition to this barrier, the country maintains tariffs exceeding 100% on Chinese electric vehicles. Now, manufacturers are pushing for the approval of a law that establishes a permanent ban.

President Donald Trump's position, however, caused concern in the sector.

In September, Trump told Fox News that he would accept Chinese companies producing cars in the United States.

The ban project advanced in July, when it was approved by a Senate committee. In the Chamber of Representatives, the version of the proposal already has more than 100 parliamentarians as co-authors.

Despite broad support, the senators responsible for the initiative, which brings together members of both parties, agreed in September to postpone the attempt to speed up the process until November.

Automakers and legislative advisors still hope to complete approval this year. But some congressional advisors and industry representatives estimate that, if Democrats gain control of the Legislature, there may be no time to vote on the ban before the session closes in December.

To defend the urgency of the measure, Bozzella cited the advance of vehicles produced in China over the European market. According to him, the European Union imported more than 1.1 million vehicles from the Asian country in the first eight months of 2026, a volume higher than that recorded in the entire year 2025.

“Given the clear risk to national security and China’s pattern of unfair behavior, Congress must protect our defense and advanced manufacturing base and prevent Chinese automakers from doing here what they have been able to do with impunity in Europe,” he declared.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had already asked the United States to “respect the laws of the market economy and the principles of fair competition”.

The Chinese government also classified previous proposals against companies in the country as “unjustified repression”.