Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Local Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin applauded today’s announcement that the Biden Administration will raise tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and other critical products like semiconductors and batteries. Slotkin was present at the White House for the announcement.


Slotkin issued the following release:

“As a former CIA officer and Pentagon official, I’ve been sounding the alarm on the threats Chinese vehicles pose to our national and economic security, and the tariffs announced today are an important step forward,” said Slotkin. “The production of these vehicles and products is subsidized by the Chinese Community Party, positioning them to flood our markets and kill American jobs in our own manufacturing sector. Today’s announcement targets China’s long standing unfair trade practices, and begins the process of pushing back on their flooding markets with subsidized goods that undercut good old fashioned American competition.”

The administration will be quadrupling tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles as well as increasing tariffs in other strategic sectors such as steel and aluminum, semiconductors and batteries.

Last month, Slotkin joined a group of her colleagues in urging Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to take additional action to address economic and national security concerns regarding the expansion of Chinese auto exports, including specifically calling for increasing tariffs on Chinese automobiles.

In February, the White House announced that the United States was opening an investigation into whether Chinese connected vehicles pose national security risks, which Slotkin welcomed.

Slotkin – a former CIA officer and Pentagon official – has long been outspoken about the threat of Chinese vehicles from her post as a member of the House Armed Services Committee. Earlier this month, she sounded the alarm on the issue in a speech on the House floor, pushed Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth on the issue, and pushed Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin as well.

Her advocacy for countering threats from the Chinese Community Party also includes issues like strengthening domestic supply chains for critical materials, pursuing industrial policy that puts manufacturing and workers first, and – especially recently – addressing and responding to a potential flood of Chinese vehicles into U.S. markets.

In March, she introduced with Republican Rep. Blake Moore (UT-01) the Protecting Against Foreign Adversary Investments Act which would provide expanded authority to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to conduct national security reviews of significant real estate purchases by foreign entities of concern – namely, companies with ties to China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.

That legislation builds on the bipartisan Foreign Agricultural Restrictions to Maintain Local Agriculture and National Defense (FARMLAND) Act, which Slotkin introduced in August with Rep. Randy Feenstra (IA-04). That bill would expand CFIUS review authority to cover significant foreign purchases of agricultural land. It also includes a provision to add the Secretary of Agriculture as a full and permanent member of CFIUS, a provision included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act passed by Congress and signed into law on March 9.

Last year, Slotkin also added a measure to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 that required the Department of Defense to produce a report on the threat of Chinese autonomous vehicles for Congress. The measure was passed into law as part of the legislation.

Slotkin has supported other legislation to protect U.S. national and economic security from potential adversaries, including a push to reduce dependence on China for critical minerals.

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND ON CHINESE CONNECTED VEHICLES

In recent years, the Chinese Communist Party has taken steps to heavily subsidize its auto manufacturing industry – including the production of electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, and other vehicles with the ability to transmit data – in order to significantly increase exports. As a result, numerous Chinese manufacturers have released vehicles at significantly lower prices than U.S. or European manufacturers, which have the potential to upend markets around the world. For example, the share of Chinese electric vehicles sold in Europe has increased precipitously after being nearly non-existent as recently as 2019, and electric vehicles manufactured in China are now poised to represent nearly a quarter of the European EV market:

These newer and more advanced vehicles have the capability to collect and transmit data – potentially back to the Chinese Communist Party. That data, collected by advanced systems like radar, light detection and ranging (LiDAR), cameras, and other sensors could include an unacceptable level of information and intelligence about U.S. military installations and critical infrastructure. This represents a serious threat to U.S. national security.


A link to the release from the White House is provided.