U.S. auto lobbyists urged the Trump administration to keep Chinese carmakers out of the American market, sounding an alarm about the threats posed ahead of President Donald Trump’s planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

China’s efforts to “dominate” the global auto industry and gain access to the U.S. “pose a direct threat to America’s global competitiveness, national security, and automotive industrial base,” leaders of five U.S. auto industry groups said in a March 12 letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other senior administration officials that was seen by Bloomberg News.

The groups said that China’s policies allow its domestic industry to sell vehicles at unfairly low prices and said that Canada’s decision to let some Chinese vehicles into the country creates “a potential backdoor” for those companies to enter the U.S. market.

“At this pivotal moment, it is essential that the U.S. remain vigilant and clear-eyed about the economic and national security risks Chinese vehicles present and reaffirm its commitment to protecting and strengthening the auto industry in the U.S.,” the lobbyists said in the letter.

The warning highlights alarm over the growing might of Chinese automakers that have moved aggressively into markets around the world and now are on America’s doorstep. China’s BYD Co. recently overtook Tesla Inc. as the top seller of EVs worldwide, and now accounts for a significant portion of new electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle sales in Mexico.

Canada, meanwhile, recently announced plans to exempt as many as 49,000 Chinese-made EVs annually from heavy tariffs, breaking from the U.S. with a dramatic policy shift. Canada’s government is now encouraging the creation of a Chinese-Canadian auto plant in the country, and BYD told Bloomberg News this week that it’s actively considering building a factory there.

Chinese automakers have benefitted from intellectual property theft and “extensive” government subsidies and sell vehicles at below-market prices, putting auto companies in the U.S. at a competitive disadvantage, said the leaders of groups that represent virtually the entire auto industry in the U.S., including General Motors Co., Toyota Motor Corp., Volkswagen AG, their dealers and parts suppliers.

The letter was signed by the heads of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation; the American Automotive Policy Council; Autos Drive America; MEMA, which represents parts suppliers; and the National Automobile Dealers Association.

As the administration weighs the risks, it shouldn’t let Chinese manufacturers “circumvent” existing restrictions by setting up plants in the U.S., the auto groups said. The distortions to the market would still exist whether vehicles are imported from China or made in the U.S., according to the letter, which was also addressed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.