A Bill Taking Aim At Chinese Cars In America Just Advanced In The Senate. It Could Hit Mercedes Too The Senate has moved forward legislation that would ban automakers with too much Chinese ownership. - A bill that would ban automakers with more than 15% stake by Chinese entities has progressed in the Senate. - One automaker caught up in the crossfire is Mercedes-Benz, which has a nearly 20% stake held by Chinese investors. - U.S. lawmakers say General Motors and the UAW are pushing for the low ownership threshold. Bipartisan legislation that would bar automakers with more than 15% ownership by Chinese entities from selling cars in the U.S. made it out of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday. The bill, which proposes limiting the overall ownership stake and tech supplied by covered entities (such as China), advanced the committee on Wednesday, moving it closer to being signed into law. If it passes as written, which is not guaranteed, there could be an unexpected luxury brand caught up in the crossfire. Rather than look at just the physical makeup of a car, the assembly location, or the software controlling its circuitry—as a similar rule already in effect does—the bill focuses on the entities with ownership stake in a particular company. This is what makes the bill tougher than just outright banning a car assembled in Guangdong or with a few too many parts from a supplier out of Shenzhen. In fact, it's got some far-reaching consequences that could impact even well-established automakers from Europe. Mercedes-Benz is one of those brands, as Chinese automaker BAIC and the founder of Geely, Li Shufu, both own nearly 10% of the company. Combined, Chinese entities own nearly 20% of the German automaker. Senator Ted Cruz, the committee's chair, said that the bill,