bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Laura Zhou

The Biden administration has finalised rules effectively barring the sale of smart cars containing Chinese or Russian technology in the US market, a last push by the outgoing American president to address national security concerns tied to the auto industry.
As announced by the Commerce Department on Tuesday, the prohibition on sales applies to connected vehicles for model year 2027 by manufacturers with a sufficient nexus to China or Russia, even if they were manufactured in the US.
Software bans would take effect for model year 2027 as well, while hardware restrictions would come into play for model year 2030. Curbs on those without a model year would start on January 1, 2029.
Yet currently the final rule only applies to passenger vehicles weighing less than 10,001 pounds (4,536kg) “given the complexity of the commercial vehicle supply chain”, the Commerce Department said.


As for technologies in smart commercial vehicles like trucks and buses, the department has plans to issue a separate rule “in the near future”, it added.
Tuesday’s news followed months of regulatory review including meetings with industrial experts and the gathering of public opinion.
It came after the Biden administration in March suggested it was considering a phased approach to ban the use of Chinese and Russian technologies for automated driving systems and vehicle communications systems.
And it marked the administration’s latest effort to limit the reach of technologies from rivals like Beijing owing to national security concerns.
That included a sweeping rule unveiled on Monday to restrict the export of US-developed computer chips that empower artificial intelligence systems.
Earlier this month, the Commerce Department said it was soliciting the views of private companies regarding a rule that could restrict or ban Chinese drones in the US.
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Elaborating on the move, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the new rules announced on Tuesday were needed to protect US national security and keep foreign adversaries from manipulating technologies to access drivers’ and owners’ sensitive or personal information.
Vehicles now have cameras, microphones, GPS tracking and other technologies connecting to the internet that could leave large swathes of the US population vulnerable, she explained.

“This is a targeted approach to ensure we keep PRC and Russian-manufactured technologies off American roads and protect our nation’s connected vehicle supply chains,” she added, referring to China by its official abbreviation.
Speaking at an event hosted by the Washington-based think tank Centre for Strategic and International Studies on Tuesday, Undersecretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Alan Estevez said the measures were necessary to curb the amount of data that could potentially be exploited by Beijing.
“Your car knows probably more about you than your spouse or your friends know, because your car knows where you go all the time. As long as you’re in your car, that little GPS device knows where it’s going, and it’s keeping track of that,” he said.
Estevez added that a software update could render a vehicle unusable, which amounts to “a risk to the critical infrastructure of the United States”.
At present, Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD has a factory in California producing buses and other vehicles, while a handful of auto brands owned by mainland companies, such as Lotus and Volvo, also have facilities stateside.
The bid to blunt rival countries’ technologies came as Washington seeks to boost America’s auto industry and as it tries to cut reliance on Beijing’s supply chain.
The US has imposed a 100 per cent tariff on EVs from China, which now leads the world in their production.
On Tuesday, Biden issued an executive order to accelerate the pace of infrastructure development for AI, a technology he said would “define the future”.
But the impact of those plans depends on president-elect Donald Trump, who is to be inaugurated on Monday, and whether he carries the Biden administration efforts forward.
Additional reporting by Igor Patrick in Washington


Trending off TikTok? US users going to China’s Xiaohongshu face challenges, analysts say

Pete Hegseth, Trump’s choice for defence secretary, calls China primary foreign threat

Robust exports show China is embedded in global supply chain

Xi Jinping, in first talk with new European Council president, seeks more EU-China cooperation

US-China relations

US bans Chinese and Russian tech in smart cars, citing national security risks

Workers for BYD assemble an electric vehicle at the Chinese auto company’s EV factory in Rayong, Thailand, on July 4, 2024. Photo: Reuters

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 15, 2024. Photo: AP

Jake Sullivan urges Trump team to focus on China cyber threats, warns of ‘consequences’

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan at the White House in Washington on Monday. Photo: EPA-EFE

US investigation finds China unfairly dominates shipbuilding, sources say

A shipyard in Jiangyin, Jiangsu province, China. File photo: EPA-EFE 

Tech war: China’s TikTok sellers eye Amazon and Shein as US ban looms

The TikTok logo is displayed outside the social media company’s offices in Culver City, California. Photo: AFP via Getty Images/TNS

Supporters of TikTok conduct live streams in front of the US Supreme Court in Washington. Photo: AFP

Some Chinese merchants are selling on e-commerce platforms like Shein to hedge against a US ban on TikTok. Photo: Reuters

China is not only winning the tech war. It’s also rewriting the rules

Visitors touch humanoid robot hands during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance in Shanghai China, on July 4, 2024. Photo: AP

A worker checks a display panel showing a computer chip and the Chinese characters for “independence” at a booth for a Chinese supercomputer firm during the World AI Conference in Shanghai, on July 5, 2023. Photo: AP

People exercise with smart fitness devices at a park in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, on December 27, 2024. Photo: Xinhua

In farewell, Biden urges Trump to tackle China’s overcapacity, clean energy dominance

US President Joe Biden speaks about foreign policy during a speech at the State Department in Washington on Monday. Photo: AP

US president-elect Donald Trump speaks to members of the media during a press conference at the Mar-a-Lago Club on January 7. Photo: Getty Images/Tribune News Service

News

China

Economy, Trade & Business

Science & Technology

World

United States & Canada

Knowledge

Topics

US-China tech war & rivalry

US-China Relations

Technology

China's electric vehicle industry

‘Targeted approach’ meant to ensure foreign adversaries’ software and hardware are kept off American roads, says Commerce secretary


‘Targeted approach’ meant to ensure foreign adversaries’ software and hardware are kept off American roads, says Commerce secretary.
