The strange alliance between Republicans and Democrats to slash the tires of the Chinese car

Donald Trump, as we know, thinks one thing and does a hundred. Or at least writes a hundred via Truth, his own social network. The unreliability of the fickle American president has now reached critical levels that put on alert not only the historic US trading partners (starting with Europeans), but also US politicians and industrialists, with unprecedented alliances between Republicans and Democrats.

The Connected Vehicle Security Act of 2026 seems to have been introduced precisely on the eve of Trump’s trip to China from May 13 to 14, as a sort of “halt” to any overly enthusiastic deals the White House occupant might make across the Pacific, forgetting his Maga audience and the many America First speeches.

That “I can’t wait to go to China, an extraordinary country, with a leader, President Xi, respected by all. Great things will happen for both countries!” uttered by the tycoon, in fact, worries the American car world quite a bit.

A SAFETY AIRBAG TO PROTECT FROM TRUMP’S ACCELERATIONS?

It is indeed a bipartisan bill sponsored by US senators Elissa Slotkin (Democrat) and Bernie Moreno (Republican) with a single goal: to raise further walls in front of the hoods of Chinese cars.

The text goes beyond what was already foreseen by the Biden administration, which had blocked made-in-China vehicles at customs citing unspecified security reasons, targeting, the sponsors write, “Chinese critical vehicles, software, and hardware at every stage,” always with the declared aim of preventing “the personal data of American drivers from being collected on US roads and transmitted to the Chinese government.”

“Chinese cars represent a serious threat to American national security and Michigan’s economic security,” Slotkin declared. “They are real surveillance systems on wheels, capable of collecting information on American citizens and sensitive sites.”

As repeatedly noted on these pages, similar bans are not of American origin: the first to ban entire neighborhoods to Teslas (equipped, as is known, with cameras and sensors for Autopilot) was in fact the Chinese government, especially during party meetings, while Elon Musk’s electric vehicles were tolerated on other roads probably because the Texas brand had established its main gigafactory in Shanghai.

The real purpose of US lawmakers, however, seems to be another: to safeguard what remains of Detroit given the boldness of the Chinese car, avoiding that what is already happening in the Old Continent repeats itself on American soil, with local manufacturers in deep crisis risking being swept away by the tidal wave coming from the Far East.

“While Europe, Mexico, and other countries allow their markets to be invaded by Chinese predators, the United States must act before it’s too late. The answer is simple: Chinese vehicles must never be allowed on the US market; the fate of the American automotive industry and countless workers in the sector depends on this,” Moreno said, who before becoming a senator owned a car dealership.

After all, the Chinese automotive market no longer seems able to absorb the frantic production of the numerous players born in recent years (well over 100 brands), so to survive and continue to generate triple-digit growth percentages, Dragon companies need to invade the roads of other countries.

Backing the bill proposed by Slotkin and Moreno is the entire American automotive supply chain: from unions, to industry associations, to local car manufacturers. Ford Motor Company, repeatedly suspected of being too sympathetic to the Chinese automotive world, stated: “We congratulate Senators Moreno and Slotkin for their bipartisan work aimed at protecting the US industrial base. We look forward to working with Congress during the legislative process of the bill.”

Stellantis, which holds the American brands Chrysler, Ram, and Dodge, stated: “The Connected Vehicle Security Act addresses important issues related to the security of connected vehicles and fair competition in the US market. We look forward to working with Senators Moreno and Slotkin on the details as their bill progresses.”

It is no coincidence that the text is closely followed by the local Detroit press, which instead looks with apprehension at the White House. In January, visiting Detroit, Trump had declared: “If the Chinese want to come, build plants and hire you, your friends, and your neighbors, great. I really like the idea. Let China come. Let Japan come. They are already building plants, but they are using our labor.” But the audience had murmured also because at the same time a poll commissioned by the Detroit News revealed some discontent in the area over tariffs and inflation, which had started rising again eroding the purchasing power of the many metalworkers who still make up an important part of the local economic fabric.

For many observers, following the European example, where a growing number of local car manufacturers would be ready to lease their currently underused companies in the Old Continent – due to an unprecedented crisis – to Chinese brands, would be equivalent to introducing the proverbial fox into the henhouse.

In this regard, it is noted in closing that it is quite curious that among the companies reportedly moving in this direction, as is known, there may also be Stellantis (which moreover has committed to exporting the Chinese Leapmotor to Central and South America and Europe), while across the ocean it simultaneously appears as the most enthusiastic about this new distinctly protectionist rule that would raise even higher Western walls against Chinese cars.