Washington should force the neighboring countries to turn their backs on Beijing, a group of US senators has said

Five Democratic senators have urged US President Donald Trump to use free trade agreement talks with Canada and Mexico to crack down on their import of Chinese electric vehicles (EV), Reuters reported Wednesday, citing a letter to the US Trade Representative's Office.

For years, the US and China have been locked in a large-scale trade war, in which the two nations have repeatedly slapped increasingly harsher tariffs on each other. The sides have exchanged accusations of unfair trade practices and economic sabotage. Amid the fight, Chinese EVs have been effectively blocked from the US market by steep tariffs and regulatory restrictions.

According to the document seen by Reuters, senators have called on the Trump administration to use the review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to address concerns about Chinese EVs being imported by the neighboring states.

"USMCA must also be strengthened to meet the threats posed by Chinese competition, particularly Chinese cars," the letter reportedly reads. "The economic and national security risks of Chinese vehicles entering the North American market are no longer a future threat - they are here today."

Last month, Trump dismissed the USMCA, which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement in 2020 and was negotiated during Trump's first term as president, as "irrelevant." Under the terms of the deal, it is up for review this year to decide whether it will be left to expire or another one will be worked out.

During his latest visit to Beijing, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney secured a preliminary trade deal with China that includes provisions on electric vehicles. Under the agreement, Canada allowed up to 49,000 Chinese-made EVs into its market at a reduced tariff rate of 6.1%, down from the previous 100%.

In exchange, China agreed to lower tariffs on key Canadian exports such as canola seed and other agricultural products.

The White House has already taken a series of drastic steps to keep Chinese EVs out of the US market. The previous presidential administration raised import tariffs on them from 25% to 100%. The executive orders issued by US President Donald Trump shortly after taking office in January 2025, brought the total effective US import tariff to 127.5%.

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Beijing has accused Washington of violating WTO rules and applying "double standards," criticizing the tariffs on Chinese exports and other regulatory measures as unfair and harmful to global economic cooperation. China has vowed to "fight to the end" in the ongoing trade war with the US.