Cheap Chinese cars that are illegal in the US are flooding Texas border cities

Drivers in cities like El Paso are noticing more and more of the budget Asian cars on the roads (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)

The cars aren’t supposed to be there. Not officially, anyway. Yet in parts of Texas, they’ve started to become a rather familiar sight.

In cities close to the US-Mexico border, drivers are increasingly spotting Chinese-made vehicles on local roads. It’s not because the rules have changed overnight. It’s because geography has created something of a workaround.

Chinese carmakers have effectively been locked out of the American motor market since January 2025.

Strict regulations brought in under former President Joe Biden included a 100% tariff, making it near impossible for those vehicles to be sold or built in the

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