Slotkin, Stevens seek ban on Chinese vehicles, even for day trips
Washington, D.C. – In case you missed it, the Detroit News covered Rep. Haley Stevens and Senator Elissa Slotkin announcing a new bill in the House and Senate to “ ban all entry of Chinese nameplate vehicles from Canada and Mexico into the United States,” while highlighting how “Stevens has frequently worked on automotive and manufacturing issues during her four terms as a U.S. House member and previously served on former President Barack Obama's auto industry task force before seeking elective office herself.”
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Detroit News: Slotkin, Stevens seek ban on Chinese vehicles, even for day trips
By: Grant Schwab
Democratic U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin and U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens announced a joint effort Wednesday to ban all entry of Chinese nameplate vehicles from Canada and Mexico into the United States, even for temporary visits to border cities in states like Michigan, California and Texas.
"It's important to me, both as an economic security issue and as a national security issue, that we not allow these vehicles to come over our border," Slotkin, of Holly, said in a phone interview.
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Her latest bill with Stevens — announced during a high-visibility week for both of them at the annual Mackinac Policy Conference — will seek to address the narrower issue of Mexican and Canadian residents temporarily driving vehicles manufactured by Chinese brands like BYD Co. or Chery Automobile Co. into or around Detroit and other border towns for brief visits.
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Slotkin and Stevens' bill aims to cut off those vehicles' access to U.S. roads, though it will include a provision allowing for exemptions under certain conditions.
"It basically just bans fully constructed Chinese vehicles — think about Geely (Auto) or BYD — from driving over in any capacity, even just for the day," Slotkin said.
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The senator also noted that she discussed the topic with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney during a recent visit to the country and told officials of her upcoming bill.
Slotkin and Stevens both called out the Trump administration for a worsening trade relationship between the United States and Canada, a factor they cited as a reason the U.S. ally reached an autos deal with China.
However, both also said additional steps are needed to look out for Michigan's interests in the evolving industry and trade landscape.
Stevens…expressed similar security concerns to Slotkin and emphasized potential economic ramifications for the industrial Midwest if Chinese automakers are ever allowed to make and sell vehicles in the United States.
"We have to recognize that state-owned enterprises that exploit open, free-market capitalism and our industrial sector are a real danger to the United States and to Michigan's manufacturing base," Stevens said in a phone interview.
She added: "I'm not going to allow Michigan, as one of just a handful of states in the country whose central economic driver is manufacturing, to get steamrolled by bad trade practices. We've got to put Michigan first."
Stevens has frequently worked on automotive and manufacturing issues during her four terms as a U.S. House member and previously served on former President Barack Obama's auto industry task force before seeking elective office herself.
The lawmakers have not yet introduced the bills in their respective chambers but said they will do so in the coming weeks. In the meantime, the two plan to publicly promote their effort during Michigan's 2026 Mackinac Policy Conference — an annual affair that brings together many of the state's political leaders and spotlights key elections.
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"Rep. Stevens has been the leader in the House on auto manufacturing policy since we were both freshmen together. She knows it backwards and forwards, she knows the history, and importantly, she's of a different generation that really understands the auto industry needs to be future-focused — not just looking backwards at how the auto industry used to be," Slotkin said.
"It was a natural pick for me to have Haley lead it, because she's truly the strongest member we have on auto policy coming out of the state of Michigan."
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