US Senator Sherrod Brown is calling on President Biden to ban Chinese EVs in the US, saying they “threaten our economic and national security, and the entire American auto industry.”

In a letter to President Biden, Senator Brown acknowledges that “there are currently no Chinese EVs for sale in the United States,” before going on to say that “we must keep it that way.” Senator Brown goes on to highlight the issues posed by the Chinese EV market, specifically Beijing’s willingness to subsidize Chinese companies to help them have an unfair advantage over local competitors.

Allowing Chinese EVs into American markets is inconsistent with a pro-worker industrial policy. Time and again, we have seen the Chinese government dump highly-subsidized goods into markets for the purpose of undermining domestic manufacturing. With this approach, the Chinese Communist Party is playing a long game – identifying critical emerging sectors, treating them as mechanisms for large-scale domestic employment, and then subsidizing them to the detriment of foreign competitors. This monopolistic approach undermines critical manufacturing sectors in the United States, Canada, and Europe – from solar panels to batteries to steel.1 We cannot let the same occur when it comes to EVs. American automakers and autoworkers need a level playing field – they cannot, and should not be expected to, compete with these heavily subsidized Chinese EVs.

Senator Brown cites the European EV market as a warning example, saying that in 2023, nearly 20% of EVs sold in Europe were Chinese models. Despite the EU Commission launching an investigation into China’s EV subsidization, Chinese companies now have a foothold in the EU market that will be difficult to undo.

The Senator also highlights national security implications of Chinese EVs, thanks to the plethora of apps, cameras, and sensors that modern vehicles come equipped with. Such technology could be used to analyze “traffic patterns, critical infrastructure, or the lives of Americans.”

Senator Brown makes clear how high the stakes are for the US automotive industry.

If Chinese electric vehicles are allowed to enter the U.S. market, it could decimate the American auto industry. According to the Alliance for American Manufacturing, doing so “could end up being an extinction-level event for the U.S. auto sector.

Given the existing US bans on number Chinese companies involved in the telecoms and networking sector, a ban on EVs certainly seems within the realm of possibility, if not probability.