The Biden administration has issued a proposal banning all vehicles with hardware or software made in China or Russia from U.S. roads, citing national security concerns.
Commerce Department officials put forth the proposed ban on Monday, saying the administration aims to implement it before the next president is sworn in in late January 2025. The proposal follows an agency investigation that found risks to U.S. national security over foreign technology, such as hacking or collecting personal data.
“Cars today have cameras, microphones, GPS tracking, and other technologies connected to the internet,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a statement. “It doesn’t take much imagination to understand how a foreign adversary with access to this information could pose a serious risk to both our national security and the privacy of U.S. citizens.”
During a Sunday call with reporters, Raimondo also warned that the technology could also allow a “foreign adversary” to shut down or take control of vehicles operating in the United States, per CNN. She also pointed to concerns over China or Russia collecting sensitive data on where drivers take their vehicles, such as their homes, schools, and doctors.
The ban would not affect vehicles with foreign software already in the U.S. Instead, it would ban vehicles with Chinese software starting in model year 2027 and ban vehicles with Chinese hardware beginning in model year 2030. It would affect all passenger vehicles as well as trucks and buses that use network connections for technologies including roadside assistance, Bluetooth, WiFi, satellite, and more. However, vehicles used for purposes such as mining or agriculture would not be affected, according to the New York Times.
Administration officials have insisted that the proposal is not driven by politics but an attempt to preserve national security.
“We’ve already seen ample evidence of (China) prepositioning malware on our critical infrastructure for the purpose of disruption and sabotage, and with potentially millions of vehicles on the road, each with 10- to 15-year lifespans, the risk of disruption and sabotage increases dramatically,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.
Sullivan also detailed concerns about these foreign technologies impacting the national grid and other critical infrastructure in the U.S. Specifically, he pointed to the cyber campaign known as Volt Typhoon which officials say could be used to impair military bases, per the New York Times.
Few vehicles with Russian or Chinese software and hardware can be found on U.S. roads. Popular brands such as Polestar and Volvo are known for selling Chinese-made vehicles stateside. However, they only make up a small percentage of all light vehicle sales. Importers such as Mexico and Japan primarily dominate auto imports to the U.S., while China is estimated to make up just over 2%.
During the first quarter of 2024, Americans purchased around 28,000 vehicles that were made in China, according to data complied by Automative News. Meanwhile, the U.S. imports almost nothing produced by Russia that could be banned, according to the New York Times.
The proposal comes as the administration has sought to reduce China’s domination in the U.S. auto industry, particularly with electric vehicles. Earlier this year, President Joe Biden approved 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs, saying they were widely subsidized by the Chinese government.
Before the proposed rule can be finalized, there will be a 30-day public comment period.
Chinese officials came out against the proposal Monday, labeling it “discriminatory.”
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“China opposes the US’s broadening of the concept of national security and the discriminatory actions taken against Chinese companies and products,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said in a statement obtained by CNN. “We urge the US side to respect market principles and provide an open, fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises.”
China has also appeared to take aim at U.S.-manufactured Tesla vehicles in recent years, reportedly temporarily banning the vehicles from some roads and government-affiliated locations. During a two-month ban in the summer of 2022, local officials said the restrictions were over “national affairs,” according to Reuters.