Democratic lawmakers fear President Donald Trump may make auto industry-related concessions to Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week — especially after the president floated the possibility of allowing Chinese carmakers to build vehicles in the US.
“I’m very concerned,” said Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich. “I want to make sure the president protects our domestic auto industry and protects our jobs and protects workers.”
She was among the two dozen Democratic lawmakers who recently asked Trump not to allow Chinese companies to enter the US for both national security and economic reasons.
Republican lawmakers are reluctant to criticize Trump but are making their opposition to foreign manufacturers known, too.
“I don’t agree that we ought to be building Chinese cars or partnering with Chinese manufacturers in the United States to build cars here,” said purple-district Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Mich.
Rust Belt states and their large auto manufacturing bases could play a decisive role in determining Senate and House control in the midterms this year, and there’s political risk for Trump and Republicans on the issue of Chinese cars.
“Autos are just an incredibly politically dangerous area to run into right before the midterms,” said Bloomberg Economics’ Adam Farrar.
Eleanor Mueller contributed reporting.