Major automakers: China poses 'clear and present threat' to US auto industry

WASHINGTON- Major automakers on Thursday urged Washington to prevent Chinese government-backed automakers and battery manufacturers from opening U.S. manufacturing plants, warning the industry's future is at stake.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents General Motors, Ford, Toyota Motor, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Stellantis and other major automakers, sounded the alarm and said Congress and the Trump administration needed to act.

"China poses a clear and present threat to the auto industry in the U.S.," the group wrote in a statement for a U.S. House hearing on Chinese vehicles. The group also said lawmakers should maintain the U.S. Commerce Department's prohibition on importing information and communications technology and services from China that effectively bars the import of vehicles from Chinese manufacturers.

"No amount of investment by automakers and battery manufacturers operating inside the U.S. can counter a China that is enabled by subsidies to chronically oversupply around the world. This is a recipe for dumping that Congress and the Trump Administration must prevent from happening inside the U.S.," the auto industry group said.

Representative John Moolenaar, a Republican who chairs a select House committee on China, said Congress should codify into law the prohibitions on Chinese-connected vehicles that were adopted in the final days of former President Joe Biden's administration.

"In just five years, China has gone from a minor exporter to the world's largest auto exporter, shipping 6 million vehicles abroad last year at below market prices that U.S. and allied automakers cannot match," Moolenaar said. "With massive subsidies, control over raw materials and supply chains and a predatory regulatory regime, Beijing has turned its auto industry into a tool of the state.

He also cited national security concerns about Chinese-imported vehicles and concerns that Beijing could disable vehicles with Chinese-made software or components in the event of a major confrontation.

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

David Shepardson/Reuters