i seem to recall it wasn’t an outright ban, but unreasonable tariffs on chinese evs specifically.

Yeah, tariffs.

Otherwise, you’d see the subcompact EVs with a 150mile range for about $9,000 US that BYD sells.

No US manufacturer can remotely compete with the cost of EVs from China. Rather than letting people buy cheap EVs, the government decided to tariff them so that they cost as much as a luxury car.