US auto industry groups are pressing President Donald Trump to keep Chinese automakers out of the American market, according to a Yahoo Finance report, with the lobbying push timed to his upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The industry's appeal lands at a moment of high stakes for US manufacturing. Chinese automakers — led by BYD, Chery, Geely and SAIC — have expanded rapidly across Europe, Southeast Asia and Latin America over the past three years, and Washington's tariff wall remains the principal barrier between those companies and US showrooms.

What the industry groups are arguing, and to whom, matters for plant planning on both sides of the border. If Chinese OEMs gain any entry path — whether through reduced tariffs, joint ventures or Mexican-assembly arrangements — the competitive calculus for existing US assembly capacity changes quickly. Suppliers in tiers two and three, already squeezed by program delays at Detroit Three plants, would face new pricing pressure from Chinese platforms engineered to lower cost bases.

The Trump-Xi meeting gives the industry a narrow window. Trade negotiations of this kind typically bundle automotive market access with other sectors, and industry lobbyists appear to be working to ensure automotive concessions stay off the table.

The Yahoo Finance report did not specify which trade groups signed the appeal, what specific policy mechanisms they requested, or whether the White House responded. That leaves the sector's exact demands — tariff levels, investment screening, or outright exclusion — unconfirmed.

For US plant watchers, the distinction between confirmed policy and lobbying intent is the one to hold onto. Current US tariffs on Chinese-built vehicles remain in force. Nothing in this reported appeal changes that. What it signals is that domestic manufacturers see the Xi meeting as a live risk of negotiation, significant enough to mount a pre-emptive public campaign.

Chinese OEMs have so far responded to US market barriers by routing investment elsewhere. BYD has committed plants in Thailand, Brazil, Hungary and Uzbekistan; Chery and MG have built European and Latin American footprints. None has broken ground on US capacity.

What to watch next: the outcome of the Trump-Xi meeting, any White House statement on automotive tariffs, and whether Chinese OEMs adjust their North America strategies — including any move toward Mexican assembly that could reframe the entire debate over Chinese content rules under the USMCA.