The Biden administration proposed on Monday (September 23rd) to ban the use of Chinese-made software and hardware in internet-connected cars in the United States for national security reasons. A Commerce Department official told Reuters on Monday that under the new regulations, General Motors and Ford Motor would have to stop exporting cars from China to the US.
General Motors’ Buick Envision and Ford’s Lincoln Nautilus, which are sold in the US market, are both assembled in China. The two automakers did not immediately comment on the matter.
Liz Cannon, head of the Commerce Department’s Office of Information and Communication Technology, stated, “We anticipate that any cars manufactured in China and sold to the US will be subject to the restrictions of the ban.”
She added that General Motors and Ford have realized that cars produced in China for the US market in the future “need to stop being manufactured in China and moved elsewhere.”
The regulation also proposes that the US and other major automakers remove key software and hardware from China in the coming years from American cars. The Biden administration expressed serious concerns about Chinese companies collecting data on US drivers and infrastructure through internet-connected cars, as well as foreign entities potentially manipulating cars connected to internet and navigation systems.
Over the past few years, almost all new small cars and trucks are “connected,” with in-vehicle networking hardware allowing access to the internet for sharing data with devices both inside and outside the vehicle. The ban being discussed by the Biden administration will affect vehicles with Bluetooth, satellite, and wireless capabilities, as well as highly automated vehicles that do not require driver control.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo stated at a briefing on Monday that foreign adversaries developing car software with surveillance capabilities that can be remotely controlled threatens the “privacy and security” of American drivers.
According to Voice of America, in November last year, some US lawmakers issued warnings regarding Chinese companies collecting and processing sensitive data while testing autonomous vehicles in the US and questioned 10 companies including Baidu, NIO, WeRide, DiDi Chuxing, XPeng Motors, Pony.ai, WeRide, AutoX, Deeproute.ai, and Qcraft.
The White House ordered an investigation into potential risks in February. The ban proposed on Monday will prevent Chinese automakers from testing autonomous vehicles on US roads and will also extend to car software and hardware produced by other non-US adversaries, including Russia.
Raimondo warned, “In extreme circumstances, foreign adversaries could possibly shut down or control all the vehicles they operate in the US, causing crashes and blocking roads.”
She cited a “warning” from Europe. After Europe opened up the electric vehicle market, cheaply produced Chinese cars flooded in rapidly.
Monday’s move represents a significant escalation of ongoing restrictions by the US on Chinese cars, software, and components. Earlier this month, the Biden administration imposed significant tariffs on imported products from China, including a 100% tariff on electric cars and increased tariffs on electric car batteries and critical minerals.
An industry organization representing major automakers such as General Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Hyundai stated that replacing car software and hardware will take time.
The Commerce Department plans to propose implementing the software ban in 2027, while the hardware ban is set to take effect in January 2029 or 2030.