On Wednesday U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced the Protecting American Autoworkers from China Act, new legislation that would counter the threat posed to the U.S. auto industry by raising tariffs on autos imported from China and closing the backdoor Chinese automakers use to evade U.S. trade laws.
“If Joe Biden wants to support American autoworkers, he should start by protecting them from the existential threat posed by China,” said Senator Hawley. “We must put American workers first, bring jobs back to American soil, and reject radical climate mandates that make China rich and America poor.”
The Protecting American Autoworkers from China Act comes in the wake of Joe Biden’s sweeping mandates on the American auto industry to force a transition to electric vehicles (EVs). Under these radical Green New Deal rules, as many as two-thirds of all autos sold in the United States would be EVs by the 2030s.
China dominates the global market for autos today, especially EVs and their component parts. And Joe Biden’s radical climate agenda and EV mandates will make America even more dependent on China’s auto industry. The United States must take action to prioritize the American auto industry and its workers.
The Protecting American Autoworkers from China Act would:
- Increase the base tariff rate of auto imports from China to 100 percent, for a total tariff of 125 percent on all imported autos from China.
- Apply the higher tariffs to all imported autos manufactured by Chinese automakers, irrespective of where the car is manufactured.
- This means Chinese manufacturers cannot use other nations, such as Mexico, as a backdoor to avoid these new tariffs.
Read full bill text here.
