Donald Trump said on Friday that he would allow Chinese automakers to manufacture cars in the United States despite opposition from American carmakers, in an interview on Fox News. Lawmakers have also widely opposed the idea, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported, and Trump is scheduled to meet Chinese President 
Xi Jinping in Washington in two weeks.
Trump told Fox News's "The Ingraham Angle" that if China wanted to come in and set up plants in the United States to produce cars, he could accept that, the Central News Agency reported, citing Reuters. He said Japan does the same but hires American workers, which he called the most important thing, and that he did not want Chinese automakers to build cars in Mexico and then ship them to the United States. He added that he was not saying Chinese cars were bad.
American automakers have urged Trump not to let Chinese carmakers into the US market. Senator Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, said on September 9 that she had heard rumors Trump planned to allow Chinese cars to be sold in the United States as part of a bigger deal he was putting together, and called that a strategic mistake, the Central News Agency reported. Trump dismissed her account as a completely false rumor and said he had blocked Chinese cars from entering the country. Rules adopted by the previous administration in early 2025 effectively bar all Chinese automakers from selling or manufacturing passenger cars in the United States. Washington also keeps tariffs of more than 100% on Chinese electric vehicles.
Figures referenced: Donald Trump, Xi Jinping. — JudgeMarket.
