AMERICAN-MADE CARS MAY GET HUGE BOOST IN CHINA

Cars made in the U.S. and shipped to China could be poised to reap huge benefits if China follows through on President Xi Jinping’s promise to roll back tariffs on imported vehicles.

Xi signaled Tuesday that the country could lower trade barriers to imported vehicles and bolster intellectual property rights.

If he follows through, the move could crack the door wider for a range of vehicles built in U.S. factories, ranging from BMW’s South Carolina-made X5 SUV to Detroit stalwarts such as Chevrolet and its sporty Camaro.

Automakers shipped at least 1,000 units of each of nearly 20 models from American plants in 2017, according to research firm LMC Automotive.

If tariffs are reduced, cars exported from the U.S. likely would be cheaper for Chinese consumers than they are now, potentially bolstering sales and helping American manufacturing.

Xi’s comments follow a back-andforth escalation of tariff threats with President Trump, who has bashed Chinese trade policy as unfair.

German automakers BMW Group and Daimler Group, maker of MercedesBenz, are the most prolific exporters of American-made vehicles to Chinese dealerships.

BMW shipped 106,971 vehicles from U.S. factories to China last year, while Mercedes sent 72,198, according to LMC.

Ford Motor was the third-largest U.S.-to-China exporter with a total of 45,145 vehicles. Fiat Chrysler was fourth at 16,545 and Tesla was fifth at 14,779.

Altogether, Chinese sales of U.S.made vehicles totaled about 266,657, representing less than 1% of the world’s largest automotive market.

The BMW X5 is the most-exported model. BMW