BYD, CATL and Xiaomi: US tariffs and connected-vehicle restrictions
BYD, CATL, Xiaomi and Gotion may join Xi Jinping’s business delegation to Washington, but 100% EV tariffs and connected-vehicle rules still restrict Chinese automakers.
BYD, CATL, Xiaomi and Gotion could join a Chinese business delegation during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit to Washington. Reuters, citing several sources, says the group is still being formed: final invitations have not been sent, and the companies themselves have not publicly confirmed participation. For now, this is a possible delegation lineup rather than an agreed trip by specific executives.
The automotive angle is especially revealing. BYD is China’s largest maker of electrified vehicles, CATL and Gotion are among the largest producers of traction batteries, while Xiaomi is rapidly expanding its own automotive business. Reuters says Beijing is considering companies that face sanctions, restrictions or market-access problems in the United States.
But the possible arrival of BYD in Washington does not mean the US market is opening to Chinese cars. The United States still applies an additional 100% tariff to Chinese electric vehicles. Even more important is the Commerce Department rule for connected vehicles: starting with model year 2027, it bars the sale of new connected vehicles by manufacturers linked to China or Russia and also restricts the import and sale of vehicles using prohibited software.
Restrictions on the relevant communications hardware take effect later — from model year 2030, or from January 1, 2029 for components without a model year.
That is why even a possible easing of tariff pressure would not, by itself, open the market. We previously examined this barrier when explaining why statements about a possible arrival of Chinese cars in the United States still cannot be treated as confirmation that the market is opening.
At the same time, technological cooperation between the United States and China already exists in another form. Ford uses licensed CATL technology to make LFP batteries at its own plant in Michigan. In other words, US industry can use Chinese technology locally, although that is very different from allowing BYD or Xiaomi to sell their own vehicles directly. LFP cells based on CATL technology are already being produced in Michigan for future Ford electric vehicles.
Reuters also notes that CATL and BYD are included by the Pentagon on the Section 1260H list of companies it says have links to China’s military sector. Inclusion on that list is not, by itself, a ban on all commercial activity. Gotion, meanwhile, continues a legal dispute surrounding a planned electric-vehicle components plant in Michigan.
The next verifiable signal, therefore, is not the political meeting itself but the final composition of the business delegation and any official US documents that actually change tariffs or connected-vehicle rules. Until such changes are announced, the possible visit by BYD, CATL and Xiaomi is primarily a sign that automotive technology and market access have entered the negotiating agenda, not evidence that the US market is opening to Chinese brands.