July 22 (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee is set to ‌consider bipartisan legislation to ‌toughen a U.S. government ban on Chinese ​automakers entering the American market but some provisions remain under debate ahead of an expected vote Wednesday.

Republican ‌Senator Bernie Moreno ⁠of Ohio and Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan ⁠proposed legislation in April to codify a regulation imposed by the ​Biden administration ​that effectively ​bans all Chinese ‌automakers from selling passenger vehicles in the U.S. and takes other steps to prevent China from entering the U.S. light-duty market. The ‌bill would prohibit vehicle ​sales by automakers ​that are ​more than 15% owned ‌by Chinese entities, which ​would apply ​to Mercedes-Benz, which has nearly 20% Chinese ownership. Mercedes-Benz is ​lobbying to ‌change the provision, U.S. lawmakers ​say.

(Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing ​by Louise Heavens)