Trump Says Chinese Automakers Can 'Build in the U.S.'

[Financial News] U.S. President Donald Trump, who has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to the United States on the 24th, said he might allow Chinese automakers to manufacture vehicles in the United States.
In a Fox News interview on the 11th, Trump said, "If China wants to come into the United States and open a plant to build cars, I would be fine with that." He added, "Japan does that too, and they employ our people. The most important thing is that they employ our people," emphasizing the creation of jobs in the United States.
Trump said he was "not criticizing the Chinese cars themselves," but stated that he would not tolerate Chinese automakers building plants in Mexico and exporting completed vehicles to the United States. He has previously accused Chinese companies of using factories in Mexico and the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) to flood the U.S. market with tariff-free products.
In 2024, former U.S. President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. imposed 100% retaliatory tariffs on electric vehicles made in China. The Biden administration also effectively banned Chinese automakers from producing and selling vehicles in the United States through various regulations.
However, Trump, who has sought to improve relations with China since the first half of last year, has been sending positive signals to Chinese companies. Foreign media outlets reported on the 4th, citing two officials, that Xi Jinping would bring a large delegation of Chinese business leaders to the United States for the event on the 24th. It would be the first time in about 11 years that Xi has traveled to the United States with business representatives.
The American Automotive Innovation Alliance (AAI), a U.S. auto industry interest group, urged Congress last week to swiftly pass legislation this year permanently blocking Chinese vehicles from entering the U.S. market. In a letter, the AAI argued that China’s auto industry is rooted in unfair trade practices, subsidies and intellectual property theft, leaving the U.S. auto industry exposed to threats.
U.S. Democratic Senator Elissa Blair Slotkin of Michigan said on the 9th, "There are rumors that Trump wants to allow Chinese-made cars to be sold in the United States as part of negotiations with China," adding, "That would be a strategic mistake."
 

[email protected] Park Jong-won Reporter