Trump says he would be OK with China building cars in the U.S.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said on Friday he would not oppose Chinese automakers building cars in the United States despite widespread opposition from U.S. lawmakers and car companies.

“If China wanted to come in and open a plant to build their cars here, I’d be OK with that,” Trump said in an interview on the Fox News program “The Ingraham Angle.”

“Japan does it, but they hire our people. The big thing is they hire our people,” he said.

He added that he does not want Chinese automakers to build cars in Mexico and ship them to the United States. “I’m not knocking Chinese cars,” Trump said.

U.S. automakers have urged Trump, who is due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington in two weeks, not to agree to allow Chinese automakers access to the U.S. market.

On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, said there were “rumors that Trump is planning to allow Chinese cars to be sold in the U.S., as part of a larger deal he’s putting together. That would be a strategic mistake.”

Trump called Slotkin’s statement a “total phony rumor” and said he had kept Chinese vehicles out of the United…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business