Trump calls Elissa Slotkin’s claim he’ll allow Chinese cars to be sold in US ‘totally phony’

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump on Friday, September 11, rejected Senator Elissa Slotkin’s claim that his administration is considering allowing Chinese vehicles into the US market.

During an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, Trump called the report “a total phony rumor” and said he had always maintained steep trade barriers against letting Chinese cars in. Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, has warned that any move to open the US market to Chinese vehicles could threaten American auto manufacturing and impact American jobs.

However, Trump also said that “If China wanted to come in and open a plant to build their cars here, I'd be okay with that,” adding that he does not want Chinese automakers to build cars elsewhere and then ship them into the US.

Trump rejects claim on Chinese vehicles

Ingraham asked Trump about a post Slotkin’s claim that the Trump administration was considering allowing Chinese vehicles to enter the United States. Trump firmly rejected that claim as “fake news” and pointed to the tariffs currently imposed on Chinese vehicles under his administration. 

“I hate this rumor. It's a total phony rumor. I'm the one that has a 150 percent tariff on any car from China. You know how many Chinese cars we have in the United States? None. I've never even heard about it. She made it up. It's just fake news,” Trump said.

Trump also said he had not been involved in any plan to allow BYD vehicles into the United States and credited his administration and, in part, the Biden administration with maintaining restrictions on Chinese cars.

“I don't allow his cars into the United States, and I never did. And Biden... I mean, probably the only good thing Biden did is he kept my policies on having to do with Chinese cars, or we would have been overrun,” Trump said.

Trump contrasted the US market with Europe, where Chinese automakers have expanded their presence. “They're ruining Mercedes. They're ruining BMW. If you go to Europe, it's like an avalanche of Chinese cars.”

Trump also touted his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is scheduled to visit Washington later this month. “We have a very good relationship. The fact that we get along is a good thing. We do very well with China now,” Trump said. 

Elissa Slotkin warns of potential policy shift as Congress pushes restrictions

Slotkin had raised the issue in a post on X, claiming that she had heard unconfirmed reports that Trump could consider allowing Chinese cars into the US as part of a broader trade agreement with Beijing.

“There’s an important moment of inflection coming in just a few weeks, when President Trump will roll out the red carpet for Chinese President Xi Jinping,” Slotkin wrote. “We hear rumors that Trump is planning to allow Chinese cars to be sold in the US, as part of a larger deal he’s putting together.”

Slotkin said such a move would affect Michigan because of the state's large auto industry. “That would be a strategic mistake and one that will irrevocably impact not just the 1.2 million Michigan jobs directly or indirectly tied to the auto industry, but the overall manufacturing capacity of the United States,” Slotkin wrote. 

Slotkin and Republican Senator Bernie Moreno have also introduced bipartisan legislation seeking to restrict Chinese vehicles and connected-vehicle technology from the American market.