Slotkin Talks Ban On Chinese Vehicles On MIRS Monday

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 06/01/2026) (MACKINAC ISLAND) – Evoking the CIA officer she was following the 9-11 terrorist attacks, U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) can't help but view Chinese vehicles crossing American borders as "surveillance packages on wheels."

Slotkin spoke to MIRS during the Mackinac Policy Conference, a yearly gathering of government, business and nonprofit leaders hosted by the Detroit Regional Chamber. The May 28 interview was featured on this week’s episode of the MIRS Monday podcast.

During the conference, Slotkin and U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham) — who's running for the U.S. Senate this year — announced federal legislation to ban Chinese vehicles from coming over international bridges and tunnels.

In April 2025, President Donald Trump's administration assessed a 25 percent tariff on auto imports arriving from Canada, and later a 50 percent tariff on copper in August and a 25 percent tariff in October of last year on specific upholstered wooden furniture, kitchen cabinets and vanities.

Amid a back-and-forth cycle of new tariffs and retaliations between the Trump administration and the Canadian government, Canada agreed to drop the tariff rate on 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles (EV) from 106.1 percent to 6.1 percent. The accepted EVs are projected to equal 2.5 percent of Canada's yearly new car sales.

Concerns surrounding EVs have been pegged as potential issues that could delay the opening of the new Pont International Gordie Howe International Bridge, which was under construction for more than 2,000 days. Its opening is anticipated to save trucks about 850,000 travel hours annually, translating into "billions of dollars in economic savings" across its lifetime.

"I actually flew out to Canada two and a half weeks ago. I sat with the Prime Minister. I sat with the other cabinet ministers and I said, 'Look, I understand that Donald Trump has kicked you in the teeth. He's declared you a threat to the United States. He's put massive tariffs. He's disrupted the relationship in a fundamental way, but now you've announced that you're going to import tens of thousands of Chinese cars,'" Slotkin said. "There are interests bigger than Donald Trump, and I really disagree with that decision."

Slotkin explained she gave Prime Minister Mark Carney and other officials a heads-up prior to announcing her proposal on Mackinac Island. While she doesn't like pushing back against Canada, she said such an issue is existential for the state.

"When we ban Chinese cars, it's because of what they collect in those cars," Slotkin said. "I explain to people that a Chinese vehicle, like a BYD vehicle, can come over our bridges and tunnels from Canada in another year, take full motion video of Selfridge Air Force Base, do LIDAR of our big infrastructure sites, but also can be hacked through a Bluetooth device in your pocket and remotely piloted from Beijing."

She expressed that such possibilities are her nightmare right now.

On Sept. 30, the federal $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) will expire, meaning that Congress will be responsible for crafting the future act for funding the country's highway system and other infrastructure needs.

Slotkin said she obviously wants the next act to include a ban on Chinese cars, but also wants to change how the country purchases the yellow paint for roads.

"I have a bunch of bills related to obscure issues, but laying pigment on the roads … the yellow paint, we buy all of our yellow paint from China, even though the biggest distributor in the country is in Muskegon," Slotkin said. "How do we make sure things are made in America that are part of our infrastructure?"