For Immediate Release: January 14, 2024
Washington, D.C. — The Commerce Department on Tuesday issued a final rule restricting the import or sale of connected vehicle technology, as well as completed connected vehicles that contain the restricted hardware or software, from foreign adversaries. Moving forward, the federal government still must address the “grave” national security risks posed by connected commercial vehicles and buses, which Commerce indicates will be resolved in future rulemaking.
“We applaud the Commerce Department’s progress in shielding Americans from Chinese connected vehicles,” Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) President Scott Paul said. “Software and hardware from China and other adversaries in today’s vehicles pose immediate national security risks. It is imperative that Commerce quickly adopt similar restrictions on connected commercial vehicles and buses, which are already widely deployed in the United States.”
Commerce states in the final rule that it intends to propose a separate regulation for commercial vehicles in the coming months to fully address the “substantial national security risks” that the category presents.
“Restricting Chinese connected vehicles of all types is necessary to block Beijing’s plans to penetrate the U.S. market,” Paul said. “We look forward to working with the Commerce Department to get this done as quickly as possible.”
AAM identified Chinese vehicle imports as an “existential threat to America’s auto industry” in a February 2024 report that urged for exclusionary tariffs on all Chinese vehicles.
In comments submitted to Commerce in April 2024, AAM called on the department to more broadly apply its proposed rulemaking on connected vehicles to cover buses, rolling stock, and other types of vehicles that already operate in major U.S. cities – in addition to traditional passenger autos and trucks.
Paul is available for interview.
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