The Biden administration on Monday proposed banning the import or sale of connected vehicles containing Chinese or Russian components, sounding an alarm about the potential for modern transport to be used as a tool for spying or to create domestic chaos during a conflict.
The move follows seven months of deliberation and increasing concern over the risk of allowing foreign adversaries to obtain data on American driving habits or to remotely control American vehicles via internet connections, said administration officials who briefed reporters ahead of the planned action.
While the official announcement flagged Russia as well as China, officials’ emphasis was clearly on the risk posed by Chinese components. The statements further cemented Washington’s view of China as a hostile power, three decades after a joint venture between General Motors and the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation showcased hopes for the United States and China to prosper together.
At issue are the hardware and software that connect vehicles to remote computers using WiFi, Bluetooth or cellular technology, or that provide the onboard brains that allow cars and trucks to operate without a driver.
“Cars today have cameras, microphones, GPS tracking and other technologies connected to the internet. 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,” said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. “In an extreme situation, foreign adversaries could shut down or take control of all their vehicles operating in the United States all at the same time.”
Modern vehicles in many cases are effectively wheeled computers, with their on-board systems constantly connecting to their manufacturers or to critical infrastructure such as charging stations while gathering voluminous audio and video data on drivers’ personal habits, said national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
“We’ve already seen ample evidence that [China] pre-positioned malware in 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 life spans, the risks of disruption and sabotage increase dramatically,” Sullivan said.
The proposed regulations from the department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, which the administration hopes to finalize by January, will apply to all wheeled vehicles that operate on public roadways, such as cars, trucks and buses. But the restrictions will not affect agricultural or mining vehicles that are driven on private roads.
The software limits are intended to apply to vehicles beginning with the 2027 model year, while the hardware restrictions would take effect for model year 2030.
The administration may face resistance from automakers. In April, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an industry group, warned that it would be difficult to quickly replace Chinese components with alternative systems.
Raimondo alluded to those concerns, noting that the Commerce Department is acting now before such Chinese or Russian components become widely used in vehicles sold in the United States.
She also nodded to Chinese suspicions about administration policy, insisting the proposed regulations are aimed at protecting U.S. national security, not gaining a trade or commercial advantage.
Still, Raimondo cited Chinese “nonmarket practices” as threatening to unleash a flood of connected or autonomous vehicles. Lael Brainard, director of the National Economic Council, said Chinese economic policies had led to the creation of “massive overcapacity of connected vehicles” that could result in low-cost Chinese vehicles swamping global markets.
In May, the administration imposed tariffs of up to 100 percent on Chinese electric vehicles in a bid to protect American car companies, which are struggling to execute a planned transition from fossil fuels, and has proposed duties on Chinese steel and giant cranes. The tariffs are in keeping with the president’s efforts to promote domestic production in a number of industries.
Chinese government subsidies have resulted in a car industry capable of producing 10 million more vehicles each year than can be sold in China. To unload their surplus production, Chinese manufacturers have cut prices, displacing domestic carmakers in Europe and threatening to do the same in the United States.
“We can't allow for a situation where our auto supply chains are dependent on China,” Brainard said.
Despite Monday’s action, self-driving cars from China have been collecting data during test rides on U.S. roads for some time. In California, Baidu’s Apollo, AutoX, and WeRide are among the Chinese companies that have received regulatory approval to test their vehicles, according to the state Department of Motor Vehicles. Arizona regulators include China’s Pony.ai on a list of companies approved for testing.