The President of the United States, Joe Biden, has proposed a new regulation to ban the circulation of cars manufactured with technology linked to China and Russia that correspond to the typologies of connected vehicles, which communicate with infrastructures or platforms of the manufacturer, and autonomous vehicles, which circulate without a driver, something that in practice means the closure of the market to all new Chinese cars.
Following the publication of the proposal, a 30-day period is open for comments from the public and interested parties, such as the automotive industry. The goal is for the regulation to take effect before January 20, 2025, when Biden leaves the White House, explained a senior official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The move is in response to national security concerns, as there are fears that Chinese and Russian companies could access driver and infrastructure data in the United States and could even remotely control those vehicles to cause accidents or block roads, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a telephone press conference.
“Cars are no longer just steel and metal on wheels,” said Raimondo, who warned that Bluetooth, cellular, satellite and wifi modules in modern vehicles can be vulnerable to cyber-attacks or manipulation by third parties.
Currently, nearly all new vehicles on U.S. roads, both gasoline and electric, are considered “connected.” These cars have hardware that allows them to connect to the internet or cloud services, sharing data with both in-vehicle and external devices.
The proposed regulation is the result of an investigation that Biden commissioned in February from the Department of Commerce to determine whether Chinese vehicle imports posed a national security risk and whether it was necessary to ban the use of such software and hardware in vehicles circulating in the United States.
Although this investigation initially covered only China, it was later extended to Russia because of fears that the Kremlin could gain access to U.S. data through Russian technology companies, according to a senior official who spoke to the press on condition of anonymity.
As a result of that investigation, it was concluded that certain Chinese and Russian technologies pose a risk both to critical U.S. infrastructure, including the power grid, and to the users of these vehicles, whose personal data could be compromised, from their place of residence to the destinations to which they are going, such as hospitals or clinics.
Raimondo assured that these are “proactive measures,” as few Chinese or Russian vehicles are currently on U.S. roads.
“What we have seen in Europe is an example of what not to do. In Europe and elsewhere in the world, it went from too few Chinese vehicles to too many,” he said. “We know the Chinese strategy, so we’re not going to wait until the risk is high. We are going to act now,” he remarked.
The proposed regulation
It specifically seeks to ban the import and sale of vehicles from China and Russia that include communications software or hardware, such as Bluetooth, cellular, satellite and wifi modules. Highly autonomous vehicles, i.e., those that operate without a driver, will also be banned.
Although the rule will take effect in 2025, automakers will have a period of time to adapt. Restrictions on software will be effective on 2027 models, while the ban on hardware will begin in January 2029.
The proposal will apply to all road vehicles, such as cars, trucks and buses, but will exclude those that do not travel on public roads, such as agricultural or mining vehicles.
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