Bipartisan agreement in Washington is hard to find — unless it comes to preventing the sale of cheap Chinese electric cars in the United States.
A coalition of Republican and Democratic lawmakers from midwestern states that are heavily dependent on domestic carmakers and auto part manufacturers, who see their Chinese competitors having unfair advantages due to their home countries’ lax labor and motor vehicle safety laws, has emerged to effectively block the entry of Chinese EVs into American showrooms.
That coalition is flexing its muscle now as President Donald Trump is in the midst of a high-profile visit to China.
“China has a strategy to dominate global automotive and battery manufacturing that presents a challenge to American economic and national security,” John Bozzella, president and CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which lobbies for most major carmakers, said in a statement. “We need to make sure we’re all playing by the same rules, but Chinese automakers are flooding markets around the world with cut-rate vehicles.”
The comments come as the average price of a new EV in the United States reached $55,211 in April 2026, according to Kelley Blue Book. The average price of a new Tesla EV in April was $53,279.
Who Is Fighting to Stop the Entry of Chinese EVs Into the U.S.?
Proposals to ban the sale of Chinese EVs in the United States have drawn support from Democrats and Republicans in Congress, as well as auto and parts manufacturers and technology groups worried about the security of data collected by Chinese-made vehicles.
“China’s goal is not to compete in the U.S. automotive market, but instead to hollow it out and ultimately limit consumer choice to Chinese brands,” lawmakers wrote in a May 6 letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Trade Ambassador Jamieson Greer.
“Allowing Chinese automotive and battery companies to manufacture in the U.S. would jeopardize our national security,” the letter added.
Sen. Bernie Moreno, an Ohio Republican who has introduced legislation in the Senate to ban the cars, said in an X post: “China is using automobiles as a weapon to infiltrate America, destroy our manufacturing base, & spy on us. We will hermetically seal the US from Chinese predators once & for all.”
Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat co-sponsoring the legislation with Moreno, wrote: “The Chinese Communist Party has a strategy. They steal tech, reverse engineer it, build it at scale, and then they heavily subsidize it so it undercuts the market.”
President Trump and members of his Cabinet have also publicly opposed the entry of Chinese EVs into American showrooms. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at the Washington, D.C. Auto Show in January that allowing Chinese EVs into the U.S. market would put American automakers at a big disadvantage.
“I think you’ll see the world be gouged by China and they’ll control all the manufacturing and we can’t let that happen,” Duffy said. “I want to keep the development and the manufacturing and the American spirit of these vehicles in our country.”
Why Are Chinese EVs Cheaper Than the Ones Made in the U.S.?
BYD’s cars sold in Europe have an average cost of $45,083, according to the company’s website. It also has compact electric models that start as low as $28,000.
Critics say BYD and other Chinese manufacturers are able to offer cheaper electric cars than their U.S. counterparts because they do not have to abide by American labor standards for compensation and work conditions. They add that domestic automakers would have to sell their EVs at a loss to compete with BYD on pricing.
Why Can’t I Buy a Chinese EV in the U.S.?
BYD’s electric cars are currently not sold in the United States because of high tariffs and federal rules regarding connected car technology and vehicle safety standards that the company views as restrictive.
BYD currently sells commercial vehicles in the United States, but the company’s U.S.-branch CEO has said she thinks the American market is “too restrictive.” In a May 2024 interview with Yahoo Finance, BYD America CEO Stella Li called it “an interesting market but it’s very complicated.”
The Trump administration has imposed a 100% tariff on all Chinese imports, including cars, making it fiscally prohibitive for BYD to sell passenger vehicles in America.
Reporting by Keith Laing, USA TODAY / USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.
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