The car industry is still massive in Europe, it's a big employer and in many localities, it's basically the only one.

China help its manufacturers a lot, regulations are lax around worker and environment rights, wages are kept artificially low, subsidies, tax cuts, export, creating an unfair competitive advantage to European cars.

Europe might never be able to compete fairly, and it's looking at ways to penalize the import of these cheap cars to rebalance the market.

I think that beyond the purely short term economics, there is a real danger that you are jeopardizing your sovereignty if you relinquish such a huge chunk of your transportation capabilities and become hostage to the whims of a country that doesn't value your vision of the world.

It becomes more than just being able to buy cheap cars and letting the market sort it out. It's about geopolitics, relevance and survival or your way of life.

Because we were stupid when it comes to the little things, but cars are expensive. And the gov't knows that in a pinch, a car manufacturer can figure out how to make tanks and planes. The last thing we want to do is let unfair competition from China kill off our native manufacturing ability.

The last thing the West needs is to allow China to gut another manufacturing sector. 1/3 of global manufacturing is already in China and they are far and away the single largest manufacturer in the world (comfortably beating the USA as well).

The loss of the ability to make large amounts of stuff at a certain point becomes a national security issue.

Because in realpolitik the ability to make cars is the ability to make artillery and protect your nationstate from the anarchy of nations.

Because China doesn’t want to drop its tariffs on imported cars, and so the USA reciprocates. The more interesting question is why other countries don’t apply tariffs to imported Chinese cars (since they would still do the same), although it is probably a non-concern in countries without their own auto industries.

Because every nation that claims to love free trade is incredibly protective of its high-value-add heavy industry.