Unfortunately because of China's economic policy we can't allow the import of their cars because what's more important than electrification is defending a manufacturing base and jobs.
What’s so frustrating about this situation is that the US has been here before, and we solved it with joint ventures with Toyota in the early 1980s.
It wasn’t tariffs though, it was quotas, which seems smarter. Let the brand get established (taste of the market) and then get them to build here.
I think what might be materially different was that while Japan was considered an economic threat, in some ways, similar to China, Japan was also an American ally. It's just a different fundamental level of trust and so things like joint partnerships are more possible. China, unfortunately under the yoke of the CCP, did not liberalize to an extent that was hoped for after the US advocated for them to join the World Trade Organization.
We really did them a huge favor there and it's so unfortunate that they used that against us when nobody in America has any issues or qualms with China besides their actions that they've taken largely on their own and without any prodding from the West.
Even in the case of Hong Kong and Taiwan, there is an easy to see world where China had democratized and nobody in the west would have given a damn about reunification, nor would we really need to have our military built up in the region.
North Korea was another problem there, which we can owe the existence of that pariah state and the wonton destruction it has imposed upon the people held hostage there, at the feet of the Chinese Communist Party and of course the Soviet Union too. Communists and other authoritarian ideological adherents did a loooooooooot of damage to the world and are still wreaking havoc.
I wouldn’t worry. The US is only 17% of the global car market. In a few years, it’ll be obvious that protectionism didn’t work.
The American car market 17% of the market with ~4% of global population seems very easily sustainable. A country like Japan who operates and is expanding in the United States [2] runs strongly counter to your point of view here.
[1] https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/30/china-warns-europe-increases... (just a recent article, you get the picture - Europe will protect its markets too)
[2] Just an example: https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/manufacturing/2026/0...
Cool, when do we do this in something other than a foot gun approach. Let me know and we'll think about caring. Until this, this line of argument is a facade.