Trump's Ambassador Says Chinese EVs Will Not 'Cross The Border' Into US: 'Not Going To Open The Floodgates'

President Donald Trump's ambassador to Canada, on Monday, said that the U.S. won't allow the entry of Chinese-made EVs into the country's domestic market, citing concerns with data privacy and security. ‘Not Gonna Cross The Border,' Says Ambassador In an interview with Rebel News, Pete Hoekstra said that the Chinese-made EVs could come into the Canadian market following the lower tariff agreement signed by Ottawa and Beijing, but those vehicles were "not gonna cross the border into the U.S.," Hoekstra said. He also shared that it was going to be Canadians who would be buying those cars. "If you’re buying 49,000 cars that are made in China, that means that you’re probably not going to be buying 49,000 cars that were built in Ontario," he said in the interview. "We’re not going to open the floodgates to have Chinese cars coming into the US from Canada. That ain’t going to happen," he said. He also called China a "great gobbler" of data, saying that the technology would be used to collect data, which may also be used for sending information "at times," he said. "Cars going across the border are 50%, 75% US content. Those are the kind of cars we like coming in," he said, adding that the auto industry faces its biggest threats from South Korea, Japan and Mexico and that the U.S. must figure out how to move numbers from those countries into the U.S. Trump had earlier criticized the deal between Ottawa and China as "one of the worst deals" of all time. He had also threatened to impose 100% tariffs on Canada if Canada made a deal with China. A U.S.-Focused Auto Strategy The comments come as Canada's leader of the Official Opposition, Pierre Poilievre, had earlier touted a U.S.-focused auto industry strategy, which included exemptions for automakers from federal sales tax for Canadian-made vehicles, as well as a rule that would enable companies to import vehicles of an equal dollar value from the U.S. or Mexico for every vehicle produced in Canada. BYD Vs Tesla In Canada However, BYD Co. Ltd. (OTC:BYDDY) (OTC:BYDDF) had registered its factories based in China's Shenzhen and Xi'an as potential exporters to Canada, according to filings with Transport Canada. BYD is also planning to establish a dedicated dealer network in the country during its first year of operation, as rival Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) loses ground in the Canadian market. Tesla, on the other hand, could still benefit from the agreement as the EV giant could import its Model 3 into the Canadian market from its factory in Shanghai under the tariff agreement. Chuck Schumer, Tom Cotton Push Bipartisan Bill Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) are pushing a bipartisan bill that would ban the use of Chinese unmanned ground vehicles, including humanoid robots and autonomous patrol technology, citing security concerns with the technology. Check out more of Benzinga’s Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link. Photo courtesy: Shutterstock