I don’t know if this is actually news, but President Donald Trump has just changed his mind about Chinese vehicles once again.
It seems like every month I’m basically reporting on another random switcharoo from the Trump Administration regarding Chinese automakers. I mean, Polestar and a few other brands were basically booted from the United States market after the government pushed forth a really dramatic law that targets automakers with any ties to China whatsoever.
After doing everything in its power to stop Chinese vehicles from coming to the United States, Trump has now changed his mind. On September 11th, he said he’d “be okay” with Chinese brands building cars in the United States if they opened a manufacturing plant and hired U.S. workers.
“The big thing is they hire our people,” Trump said, according to Reuters. “Japan does it, but they hire our people.”
Trump will be meeting with President Xi Jinping in Washington D.C. in a few weeks. Meanwhile, U.S. automakers and politicians are begging him not to allow Chinese brands in. U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin believes that this would be a “strategic mistake.” The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents brands such as Ford, General Motors, Volkswagen, Stellantis, and Honda, has also attempted to pass legislation to ban Chinese vehicles from the U.S. market.
But what about Ford?
All of this anti-Chinese stuff has been pretty ironic, considering Ford (the most American carmaker in history) has strong ties to China. Despite calling the prospect of Chinese EVs in America “devastating” to domestic brands, Ford has continued its partnerships with Chinese companies, ranging from batteries to production.
Even the Trump Administration has commented on this very recently. Earlier in September, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy commented on Ford’s links to battery manufacturer CATL and more, stating that Ford has attempted “to facilitate Chinese joint ventures on United States soil.”
Ford said it was the most American automaker ever, explaining: “Secretary Duffy’s letter is a wrongheaded attempt to capture headlines at the expense of a company that has done more for American manufacturing than virtually any other in the nation’s history.”
Either way, it’s pretty funny to see the Trump Administration so adamant about fighting Chinese EVs and brands, but the most patriotic automaker of all time has been working with China this entire time.
Seems like we may need China in some way after all.
