Chinese electric vehicles have been described as ‘an existential threat to the American auto industry’ by the chairperson of the Senate Banking Committee, Senator Sherrod Brown, who has urged President Joe Biden to ban their importation into the US.
According to the BBC, Brown’s comments are the strongest yet by any US lawmaker on the issue. Others have called for steep tariffs to keep Chinese electric vehicles out of the country.
In February, the White House said the US was opening an investigation into whether Chinese cars pose a national security risk.
At the time, Biden said that China’s policies ‘could flood our market with its vehicles, posing risks to our national security’ and that he would ‘not let that happen on my watch’.
Brown − a Democrat from the car-producing state of Ohio who is seeking to win a fourth term in office in November’s election – said in a video on social media platform X: ‘We cannot allow China to bring its government-backed cheating to the American auto industry.’