Trump administration forces out China EV official

Elizabeth Cannon has resigned as Executive Director of the Commerce Department’s Office of Information and Communications Technology and Services following a pressure campaign by senior officials to force her departure. Cannon’s office was created in 2022 to investigate supply chain threats from foreign adversaries; in 2024 it was instrumental in establishing a rule banning the import and sale of connected cars and associated software linked to Chinese and Russian firms.

Cannon’s announced exit follows the removal of one of her deputies who was placed on administrative leave earlier in January, sources familiar with the matter have told The Wall Street Journal. The departures raised an eyebrow for some US officials and security hawks concerned about what they characterised as the Trump administration’s softening stance toward China. 

Cannon’s office is broadly charged with securing US technology infrastructure and protecting Americans’ data. However, the office has not announced additional rules in the past year, despite progress on investigations of other Chinese technologies. Priorities included possible restrictions on Chinese router maker TP-Link and activity by telecommunications companies China Telecom and China Unicom, while a rule restricting China- and Russia-linked heavy trucks and buses—previously indicated to follow existing restrictions on passenger cars—appears to have stalled.

That inactivity aligns with the Trump administration’s pause on punitive actions toward China as the president aims to reduce trade conflict with Beijing. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated several days prior to the development that the US’ relationship with China has reached a “very good equilibrium”. 

Cannon is the latest Commerce Department official to leave under the Trump administration. Kevin Kurland left in December after 28 years at the Bureau of Industry and Security, Dan Clutch joined Caterpillar in August, and Matthew Borman joined Akin Gump law firm after being pushed out last spring.

The Commerce Department withdrew a September proposal to impose restrictions on Chinese drones on 9 January, months after sending it to the White House for review. President Trump also agreed recently to sell Nvidia’s AI chips to Chinese customers, and dismissed several National Security Council members last year.

The US finalised its rules on Chinese connected car technology on 15 January 2025, just days before President Trump returned to the White House. Then-Commerce Secretary Gina Raimonda told Reuters at the time of the announcement: “It’s really important because we don’t want two million Chinese cars on the road and then realise […] we have a threat.” 

President Trump’s approach has been decidedly more volatile. On the one hand, the president dramatically increased the total tariffs on a range of Chinese goods—including vehicles and components—in 2025, but later reversed a portion of those increases as part of a temporary trade truce and negotiation process. 

During the campaign, he signalled a willingness to let Chinese automakers in on the provision they set up local production instead of shipping from China or a neighbouring country. “Right now as we speak, large factories are being built across the border in Mexico […] Those plants are [instead] going to be built in the US, and our people are going to man those plants.” Trump reiterated his openness at an event in Detroit in January 2026, stating: “If they want to come in and build a plant and hire you and hire your friends and your neighbours, that’s great, I love that.”

Trump separately threatened on 24 January to impose a 100% tariff on Canada if Prime Minister Mark Carney proceeds with a trade deal allowing up to 49,000 China-made electric vehicles annually into the Canadian market at a substantially reduced 6.1% duty. In a post on Truth Social, he warned that Carney is “sorely mistaken” if he thinks Canada can become a “drop off port” for China to send goods into the US, though Canadian minister Dominic LeBlanc clarified there is “no pursuit of a free trade deal with China” but rather resolution on tariff issues.