Key facts
- The UAW asked Johnson and Jeffries to keep the House China Select Committee in place, per a letter seen by Reuters.
- The UAW letter cited global overcapacity in electric vehicles, Chinese ownership of Western automakers and offshoring to China.
- The committee under Republican Representative John Moolenaar examined Ford's partnership with Chinese battery company CATL.
- The panel also examined an abandoned plan by a Gotion subsidiary to build a $2.4 billion battery materials plant in Michigan.
- Senator Bernie Moreno told Reuters on November 10, 2026 he was close to a deal on a permanent Chinese auto ban.
- A group representing General Motors, Toyota and Volkswagen is lobbying Congress to finish the Chinese auto ban in 2026.
The United Auto Workers urged top US lawmakers to keep the House China Select Committee in place when Democrats take over, citing concerns about Chinese automakers, according to a letter seen by Reuters on November 11, 2026.
In the letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the union wrote: "From global overcapacity in electric vehicles, Chinese ownership of Western automakers, and continued offshoring to China, we urgently need Congress's focused attention on these issues and their rapidly emerging downstream effects." It added: "Autoworkers cannot afford any lapse in Congress's attention on this issue."
Jeffries said during the week of November 9, 2026 that he would meet with Democratic leaders on the future of the House China select committee. The committee, led by Republican Representative John Moolenaar, has investigated China-related issues including Ford's partnership with Chinese battery company CATL and an abandoned plan by a subsidiary of Chinese battery company Gotion to build a $2.4 billion plant in Michigan to produce battery materials.
Moolenaar said during the same week that the committee's work should continue next year, saying: "The challenges we face as a nation are only becoming more urgent given the high-stakes technology competition in AI and (China's) growing coercion targeting America's allies and partners."
Congress has yet to pass legislation making permanent a ban on Chinese autos. Senator Bernie Moreno, a Republican co-author of the bill, told Reuters on November 10, 2026 that he was getting "really, really close" to a deal and hoped for a Senate vote as early as the week of November 16, 2026. A group representing General Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen and other major automakers is lobbying Congress to complete the ban in 2026.
A regulation imposed by former President Joe Biden in early 2025 effectively banned Chinese automakers from selling or building passenger vehicles in the US because they could send sensitive driver data to China. Washington also maintains more than 100% tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.