President Donald Trump says that he might be okay with Chinese automakers entering the U.S. and building their vehicles in the country ahead of a key meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Chinese Cars in the U.S.?
During an interview with Fox News on Saturday, Trump initially dismissed reports that the administration was working on a framework that would allow Chinese automakers to enter the U.S., which were shared by Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) on the social media platform X.
“It’s a total phony rumor,” Trump said, adding that the administration’s tariff strategy had kept the Chinese players out of the U.S. market instead.
“Slotkin is doing a terrible job, by the way…like most of the radical left. They are ruining their states and their cities,” he said. Trump then hailed the domestic manufacturing push by automakers like General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) and more, saying that his policies have kept the automakers from going “bankrupt.”
However, later in the interview, the President then signalled his willingness to allow Chinese automakers if they were to manufacture locally in the U.S.
“If China wanted to come in and open a plant to build their cars here, I would be okay with it,” he said, adding that Chinese automakers would need to hire U.S. workers. “What I don’t want is for them to build in Mexico…and ship it across the border,” he said.
He also said that automakers were leaving Canada to manufacture in the U.S. following a breakdown in talks between the U.S. and Canada, which was blamed on the Canadians by U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Trump’s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
Trump Doubles Down on Chinese Car Rumors
On his way to Joint Base Andrews on Sunday, Trump addressed the press aboard Air Force One when a reporter asked him about allowing Chinese autos in the U.S. “I’m the one that kept them [Chinese automakers] out,” Trump reaffirmed. “The tariffs kept them out; I have a 100% tariff from 100 to 150,” he added.
Speaking on a possible deal for Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) with Chinese airlines, Trump expressed bullish sentiments. “I get every deal,” Trump said. Earlier, Chinese airlines had confirmed a 200-aircraft order for the planemaker following Trump’s visit to Beijing in May.
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