It’s hard to find bipartisan agreement in Washington — unless it comes to stopping 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 parts makers who see their Chinese rivals gaining an unfair advantage because of their home countries’ lax labor and motor vehicle safety laws have emerged to effectively block the entry of Chinese EVs into U.S. showrooms.
That alliance is now showing its strength as President Donald Trump heads on a high-profile visit to China.
“China has a strategy to dominate global automotive and battery manufacturing that poses a challenge to U.S. 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 after the average price of a new EV in the United States is expected to reach $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 Chinese EVs from entering the US?
Proposals to ban the sale of Chinese EVs in the United States have received support from Democrats and Republicans in Congress, as well as auto and parts manufacturers and technology groups who are concerned about the security of data collected by Chinese-made vehicles.
“China’s goal is not to compete in the U.S. automotive market, but to hollow it out and ultimately limit consumer choice to Chinese brands,” the lawmakers said in a May 6 letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Besant, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Ambassador Jamieson Greer.
“Allowing Chinese automotive and battery companies to manufacture in the United States would put our national security at risk,” the letter said.
Senator Bernie Moreno, an Ohio Republican who has introduced legislation in the Senate to ban the cars, said in an X post: “China is using the automobile as a weapon to infiltrate America, destroy our manufacturing base, and spy on us. We will seal America from Chinese predators forever.”
Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat who co-sponsored the legislation with Moreno, wrote: “The Chinese Communist Party has a strategy. They steal the technology, reverse engineer it, mass-produce it, and then they heavily subsidize it so that it undermines the market.”
President Trump and members of his Cabinet have also publicly opposed the entry of Chinese EVs into US showrooms. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at the Washington, DC Auto Show in January that allowing Chinese EVs into the US market would cause major losses to US automakers.
“I think you’ll see the world become engulfed by China and they’ll take over all the manufacturing and we can’t let that happen,” Duffy said. “I want to keep the development, manufacturing and American spirit of these vehicles in our country.”
Why are Chinese EVs cheaper than US made EVs?
According to the company’s website, the average price of BYD cars sold in Europe is $45,083. There are also compact electric models whose prices start at $28,000.
Critics say BYD and other Chinese manufacturers are able to offer cheaper electric cars than their American counterparts because they do not have to follow U.S. labor standards for compensation and working conditions. They say that to compete with BYD in terms of pricing, domestic automakers will have to sell their EVs at losses.
Why can’t I buy Chinese EVs in the US?
BYD’s electric cars are not currently sold in the United States due to high tariffs and federal regulations regarding connected car technology and vehicle safety standards, which the company considers restrictive.
BYD currently sells commercial vehicles in the United States, but the CEO of the company’s US branch has said he feels the US market is “too restrictive”. In a May 2024 interview with Yahoo Finance, BYD America CEO Stella Lee called it “an interesting market but it’s very complex.”
The Trump administration has imposed 100% tariffs on all Chinese imports, including cars, making it financially prohibitive for BYD to sell passenger vehicles in the US.
Reporting by Keith Lang, USA TODAY/USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.