The U.S. Ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, has taken a firm stance against Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers, stating that they will not be allowed to enter America. This comes months after President Donald Trump revealed that he was open to EV companies producing cars locally.
MotorBiscuit recently reported that Canada had loosened its grip on Chinese EV companies by relaxing its tariff structure, allowing them to enter the country at a revised duty rate of just 6.1%.
This has helped brands like BYD and Chery access the Canadian market, although they are only allowed to bring in a fixed 24,500 Chinese-made EVs each under the quota, still enough to build a strong dealer network.
Both brands are planning to establish independent dealerships, but it remains to be seen if they can sustain multiple dealerships under a limited vehicle quota.
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Chinese EV companies are eyeing an aggressive expansion plan across the world, with Canada being one of their recent additions.
However, Hoekstra has stated that despite their gaining popularity, they will not be allowed to enter the U.S. Ford Authority reported his statement:
“Those cars can come in from China, come into Canada, but they’re not going to cross the border into the US. That ain’t gonna happen. We’re not going to open the floodgates to Chinese cars entering the U.S. from Canada.”
At present, Chinese EVs are not permitted to enter the U.S. due to cybersecurity laws that prohibit their import or sale. However, Trump said early this year that he would welcome Chinese EV companies if they built a manufacturing plant in the country. MotorBiscuit reported his comment:
“If they want to come in and build a plant and hire you and hire your friends and your neighbors, that’s great, I love that.”
However, U.S. automotive groups, representing car manufacturers, parts suppliers, and car dealers, are not happy about the threat Chinese EV companies pose to the country’s automotive market. As a result, they approached Trump to block their potential entry into the country in the future by writing him a letter.
The group revealed serious concerns about “China’s ongoing efforts to dominate global automotive manufacturing and to gain access to the U.S. market. These actions pose a direct threat to America’s global competitiveness, national security, and automotive industrial base.”
The letter added:
“We also strongly urge the Administration to reject any attempt by Chinese manufacturers to circumvent these existing restrictions by establishing production facilities in the U.S.”
The group maintains that regardless of whether Chinese cars are manufactured in the U.S. or not, Chinese companies still pose a threat to the country’s auto industry. The letter said:
“The market distortions and risks to the auto industry in the U.S. are fundamentally the same whether these vehicles are imported or produced domestically.”
