Pete Buttigieg Calls for Action on EVs, Infrastructure, and Air Travel

• Pete Buttigieg urges policy changes to counter unfair Chinese EV competition and U.S. auto makers to renew their efforts to produce cutting-edge electrified vehicles. 
• Buttigieg condemns the “corruption” in the Trump administration that is holding up the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge. 
• He also discusses why competition is disappearing in the air travel industry. 

During the Detroit Regional Chamber’s 2026 Mackinac Policy Conference, former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg discusses the competitive threat from Chinese EV vehicles; the lack of competition in the air travel industry, including the role of “fortress hubs”; and the need to open the new Gordie Howe International Bridge as soon as possible. 

Former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told the Mackinac Policy Conference on Wednesday that unfair competition from Chinese makers of electrified motor vehicles (EVs) is both a national security and a technological threat for the U.S. 

“We know from what has happened in so many other areas of technology what can happen when China is able to exert its influence and leverage its presence in a market for a lot of purposes that are not consistent with American national security, and on the economic security side, we know that the arrival of these vehicles and these technologies is not happening in some kind of textbook competitive market, that there is a massive thumb on the scale that is happening,” Buttigieg said. “The attempt to enter our market or any of the other markets where our OEMs compete, they’re not doing it on fair terms.” 

Buttigieg also said the Trump administration’s policy of withdrawing support for EV production was misguided, saying: 

“We need to have a strong policy fence here, and we need to support, as we sought to do when I was in the cabinet, support this sector in every way we can, but it is the company’s job, the industry’s job to make sure that there is enough advancement and competitiveness and sophistication.” 

On recent air travel disasters and near-misses, Buttigieg called for greater and sustained upgrading of the U.S. air traffic control system. 

“We need to make sure that we upgrade the systems,” he told the Chamber’s Sandy K. Baruah. “There’s work underway on that, but it’s got a long way to go, and when you strip the politics out of there’s been finger-pointing, but the reality is … I believe my successor cares about this. We worked hard to move the ball on that too.” 

On the need to open the new Gordie Howe International Bridge linking Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Buttigieg condemned the “corruption” in the Trump administration holding up the opening. Buttigieg noted that the owners of the older Ambassador Bridge donated a reported $1 million to the Trump administration, and in return, Trump has delayed the opening of the Gordie Howe span that will compete with the Ambassador.  

“The President of the United States is suddenly blocking a piece of infrastructure that is economically important to the country, to the state, and to the region,” Buttigieg said. “It is as simple as that. It is corruption, and I would expect and hope every Republican and every Democrat in this state and in this region will be equally full-throated about demanding that that corrupt reason be dismantled and that that bridge be open.” 

This session was sponsored by The Kresge Foundation.