Can a Chinese Car Company Make It in America?

0:03The vice president defends the ICE agent who killed a woman in Minneapolis. Plus, Chinese car company Geely is considering a big push in the U.S. We'll look at the challenges in its way. There was just a congressional hearing a few weeks ago about what was described as China's threat to the American auto industry. The top lobbying group is urging the Trump administration to prevent Chinese companies from coming here. Given that political reality, it's not just tariffs that might be the thing that holds it up. And Iran's Internet shuts down amid widespread unrest. It's Thursday, January 8th. I'm Alex Osala for The Wall Street Journal.

0:39This is the PM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today.

0:48In Minneapolis, there's a deepening political divide after an ICE officer yesterday shot and killed a 37-year-old woman, Renee Nicole Good. The Trump administration says the agent fired in self-defense after Good tried to run over officers. But state and city officials dispute that version of events. Videos from the scene have raised questions about whether Good was trying to flee rather than harm someone. Now, Minnesota officials say the FBI has shut them out of the investigation into the shooting. Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat, said an investigation that doesn't include state law enforcement can't be trusted.

1:22It feels very, very difficult that we will get a fair outcome. And I say that only because people in positions of power have already passed judgment from the president to the vice president to Kristi Noem have stood and told you things that are verifiably false. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the state's law enforcement agency doesn't have any jurisdiction in the investigation. Vice President J.D. Vance, speaking in the White House briefing room today, defended the agent responsible for yesterday's shooting. He also criticized Good. I can believe that her death is a tragedy, while also recognizing that it's a tragedy of her own making and a tragedy of the far left who has marshaled an entire movement, a lunatic fringe, against our law enforcement officers.

2:14Meanwhile, protests against ICE have continued in the city. ICE GO HOME! ICE GO HOME! WSJ National Affairs reporter Joe Barrett is on the ground in Minneapolis and joins me now. Joe, you were just at some of the protests there. What are they like? There were probably dozens of protesters and more than 100 Border Patrol agents and other federal agents lined up, preventing them from getting into the parking lot of this very large building, the Whipple Federal Building, where the Border Patrol has based their operations in Minneapolis. People yelling and screaming. So, you know, emotions running very high.

2:49But, you know, just since it's a random Thursday, not a huge, huge amount of people there. Just generally in the city, like what's the vibe kind of like right now? This is a city that faced the whole George Floyd protests and they're kind of feeling like it's sort of happening again. Their city's been taken over by this national event and people are on edge. You just don't know where ICE is going to show up next. People are coming out onto the streets and blowing their whistles and trying to let their neighbors know about it. Everybody is saying things like they just don't feel like this entire operation is necessary.

3:22They don't feel like they're being made more safe by getting these people who've been here for years out of the country. So, yeah, you know, go home, basically. We're fine. I spoke with a woman who lives across from Powderhorn Park, which saw an encampment during the George Floyd protests. And she says she lives about five blocks from where this shooting happened yesterday. day. She and her daughter came to the protest today and she said her daughter was like really trying to engage with some of these guys. I saw several conversations between people and the Border Patrol agents. And, you know, she said she was asking them, you know, do you have any pets?

3:56Where do you live? Where are you from? You know, trying to make a connection with these people and not just, you know, vilify them. Of course, there were plenty of people there that were just screaming at them. But there's also sort of the Minnesota nice way of doing these kinds of things. That was WSJ National Affairs reporter Joe Barrett. Thank you, Joe. All right. Thanks a lot, guys.

4:15And in Washington, the Senate today voted in favor of a resolution to block President Trump from taking military action in Venezuela without approval from Congress. Five Republican lawmakers sided with Democrats to pass the motion, and President Trump then lashed out at those GOP senators by name. The measure's unlikely to become law, but it's a rare bipartisan rebuke of the White House. Meanwhile, in Venezuela, the government said it would release political prisoners. It's not clear how many, but Jorge Rodriguez, the brother of acting president Delce Rodriguez, said that it's a gesture, quote, to seek peace.

4:51Coming up, the Chinese carmaker that might expand in the U.S., a surprising shrink in the U.S. trade deficit, and an internet blackout in Iran. That's after the break.

5:10Have you heard of Geely? It's one of China's biggest makers of electric vehicles, and it's a name you might be hearing more often in the future. The company is saying that it's likely to make an announcement about its plans to expand in the U.S. sometime in the next three years. If Geely does expand into the U.S. market, that would make it the first big Chinese auto brand to come to the U.S. in a major way. I'm joined now by Ryan Felton, who covers the auto industry for The Journal. Ryan, let's lay a little groundwork here. Can Chinese cars actually be sold in the U.S.? Because I thought that was something the Biden administration effectively banned.

5:44What the Biden administration did was impose an extremely hefty tariff on electric vehicle imports. The Trump administration then imposed additional tariffs. So, yeah, the tariffs are a big barrier. But that doesn't change the fact that if you were to build here, you would not be paying the tariff. What about the ban on Chinese connected vehicle software? It's supposed to go into effect for the 2027 model year, which is what you would start seeing later this year come to market. Chinese car makers, if they are willing to find a way to build cars here and localize their supply chain for parts that would be covered by this software ban, that is, you know, at least on paper for now, that's the main barriers.

6:36There have been cars by Volvo and Polestar, for example, which are owned by Geely, sold here already. Volvo currently has a plant in South Carolina that's pretty underutilized. So if G. Lee wanted to bring some of these brands that are popular in China and elsewhere around the world to the U.S., they have a way to start getting cars built here and getting around those tariff barriers much more easily than some counterparts who are in China. I want to talk about reasons why this expansion by G. Lee might not happen. So there has already been some political opposition. There's one Republican lawmaker who's a big ally of President Trump, Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio.

7:22And he said there will be no Chinese cars in America. Would you expect there to be more political opposition? And what kinds of other barriers might get in the way? That's for sure going to be the biggest reason why you might not see a Chinese company come here and build a plant to start trying to make cars here. There was just a congressional hearing a few weeks ago about what was described as China's threat to the American auto industry. The top lobbying group has consistently been urging the Trump administration to prevent Chinese companies from coming here. Some people might just be turned off by the idea of buying from a Chinese brand.

8:00That's sort of why the Gigli scenario is so intriguing because they really do already have a small foothold here. It's just a question of do they want to bring some of these other brands that have kind of blossomed elsewhere to the U.S. as well. That was WSJ reporter Ryan Felton. Thank you, Ryan. Thanks. Separately, in China, the government said it would review Meta's recent acquisition of artificial intelligence startup Manus, whose parent company was set up in China and then moved its headquarters to Singapore. People familiar with the matter say Beijing wants to protect its AI technology. It's a warning signal to Chinese entrepreneurs looking to Silicon Valley.

8:38But in the case of Manus, Beijing appears to have few tools to block its deal with Meta.

8:46In markets today, major U.S. indexes were mixed as investors rotated out of technology stocks. The Dow rose 0.6 percent, the Nasdaq fell 0.4 percent, and the S &P 500 was flat. In oil, Brent crude futures rose 3.4 percent. The U.S. trade deficit shrank in October to its lowest level since 2009. Imports fell, while exports rose, and the resulting deficit was$29.4 billion. nearly 40 % smaller than September's level. Today's numbers suggest that big swings in just a few trade areas, especially gold and pharmaceuticals, explain a lot of that volatility. We're exclusively reporting that the private equity firm L.

9:27Catterton is taking a majority stake in cottage cheese brand Good Culture. That's according to executives from the companies. The deal values Good Culture at more than$500 million. Good Culture's CEO said sales have jumped by almost 300 percent over the past three years, as Americans try to get more protein into their diet. And Paramount Skydance continued pushing its nearly$78 billion hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, a day after Warner said it plans to stick with its deal with Netflix.

9:59And in Iran, where widespread protests continue, a watchdog group says the Internet has been almost completely shut down. The country went offline today around the same time as the son of Iran's former Shah called for people to protest. The demonstrations began last month and today workers in the oil sector and shopkeepers went on strike. An oil trade union said security forces fired at its members. A human rights group says more than 2 ,000 people have been arrested and at least 36 killed in the unrest. And that's what's news for this Thursday afternoon. Additional sound in this episode courtesy of Reuters.

10:35Today's show is produced by Pierre Bien-Aimé with supervising producer Tali Arbel. I'm Alex Osola for The Wall Street Journal. We'll be back with a new show tomorrow morning. Thanks for listening.