- The United States Senate Commerce Committee approved legislation on Wednesday to ban sales by automakers with more than 15 percent ownership by Chinese entities. - The proposed legislation could result in banning the sale of Mercedes-Benz vehicles, since the company has nearly 20 percent ownership by Chinese groups. - Should the legislation become law as it's currently written, Mercedes would have until at least 2030 to comply but could potentially get waivers to skirt the ban. The future of Mercedes-Benz in the United States could be in trouble, at least based on newly proposed legislation in the United States Senate. Today, the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee approved legislation to ban sales by automakers with more than a 15 percent ownership stake by Chinese entities. Mercedes, which has a nearly 20 percent ownership stake by Chinese groups, could be affected by the legislation, though an outright ban of the German automaker seems unlikely. Eric Li Shufu, the founder and chairman of Geely, owns 9.7 percent of Mercedes through an investment firm, with the BAIC Group (Beijing Automotive Group) owning another 9.98 percent. For Sale Near You See all results for used Mercedes-Benz for sale near 94566 According to a report by Reuters, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), the committee chair, said that the bill requires changes before becoming law. According to the report, the senator directly addressed the potential Mercedes ban, while Senator Bernie Moreno (R-OH) said that the automaker would have until 2030 to comply. Moreno also announced that Mercedes could potentially get waivers that would allow the automaker to skirt the new regulation. According to the Reuters report, Cruz said that General Motors is pushing for the legislation as a way to remove Mercedes from the picture, thereby making the Cadillac brand more competitive. Despite that, Cruz said, "we