According to an article (https://www.thedrive.com/news/vw-is...-selling-a-hybrid-gti-gte-in-the-us-right-now), when asked why VW wasn't bringing the GTE to the US, VW basically said "too expensive, not enough buyers." Apparently, it costs a lot of money to get the car ready for the US market, and VW doesn't think enough people will buy it to make it worth their while.