Senator Bernie Moreno is seeking a broader ban covering Chinese automotive material, software, and partnerships.
US automakers and business groups support the ban and urge their allies to take similar actions.
Donald Trump had previously expressed openness to the construction of Chinese plants in the US.
(Adding quotes and details, no immediate comments from the Chinese embassy in Washington, from paragraph 2) by Kalea Hall and David Shepardson
Republican Senator Bernie Moreno announced on Tuesday that he will introduce a bill next month to strengthen the US government’s ban on Chinese automakers entering the American market and encouraged other countries to follow suit.
The Biden administration has implemented stringent regulations effectively banning all Chinese automakers from selling passenger vehicles in the US by January 2025, citing national security concerns related to the vehicles’ ability to collect sensitive data on American owners.
The ban is strongly supported by American automakers and other automotive groups. Earlier this month, major auto trade groups urged the US government to prevent Chinese automakers from entering the country, according to a letter seen by Reuters, ahead of the planned summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in May.
Senator Moreno stated that his legislation would go further than banning imports and would lock the US so that “there is never a scenario where a Chinese car enters our market, be it material, software, or partnerships.”
“There will be no Chinese cars here. And what I hope is that Latin America, Mexico, Canada, and Europe adopt our same standards,” he said at an event organized by the Automotive Forum ahead of the New York Auto Show.
“We do not allow Huawei to enter our telecommunications infrastructure. We will not allow Chinese automakers to enter this market,” Bernie Moreno declared, referring to the US government rules prohibiting the Chinese telecommunications company. “We will stop the cancer from entering our market, and we will need other countries to undergo chemotherapy.”
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Donald Trump is expected to visit China in May as the world’s two largest economies seek to maintain the stability that has characterized their relationship since the end of last year, following a challenging period marked by Donald Trump’s tariffs and China’s control over rare earth exports.
In January, Donald Trump stated that he was open to Chinese automakers building vehicles in the US. “If they want to come and build a plant, hire you and hire your friends and neighbors, that’s great, I love it,” he said at the Detroit Economic Club.
