Senate Races to Pass Chinese Car Ban Before New Congress
Bipartisan bill seeks to ban Chinese cars from U.S. ahead of 2027 deadline.
3 min read
Time is running out for a bipartisan bill to ban Chinese cars from the U.S. to be passed in the Senate before a new Congress is sworn in. While the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation advanced the Connected Vehicle Security Act on July 22, the full chamber has yet to vote on it. Automakers have pressed lawmakers to enact a ban before the current Congress ends, John Bozzella, president and CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, wrote in a Monday blog post.
“Given the obvious national security risk and China’s pattern of unfair behavior, Congress should protect our defense and advanced manufacturing base and stop Chinese automakers from doing here what they’ve gotten away with in Europe,” he wrote.
#ChineseVehicles in Europe… “a cautionary tale” for the U.S. 🚨 NEW: @autosinnovate President and CEO John Bozzella urges Congress to ban the sale, manufacture and import of Chinese connected vehicles BEFORE adjourning this year. Read more → https://t.co/UWzBGfEQVl
“Senator Moreno continues productive talks with colleagues and industry partners during the Senate recess and aims to finalize the product,” Reagan McCarthy, a spokesperson for Moreno, said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“Chinese connected [ sic ] vehicles are a national security threat and would ruin our country’s manufacturing base. That is why Congress must pass Chairman Moolenaar’s bipartisan Connected Vehicle Security Act,” a spokesperson for the House Select Committee on China, which Republican Michigan Rep. John Moolenaar currently chairs, also said in a statement to the DCNF. “The bill has more than 140 cosponsors and we continue to work with leaders in the House and Senate to pass it as soon as possible.”
The Senate is expected to reconvene 3 p.m. Nov. 9. At the time of writing, 57 senators have signed on as cosponsors of the bill, 36 Republicans and 21 Democrats. If the bill does not pass before the current Congress ends Jan. 3, 2027, its sponsors will have to restart the legislative process in a new Congress featuring Democratic majorities in both chambers.
Starting Jan. 1, 2027, the version of the bill stuck in committee would outlaw importing, building, or selling wirelessly connected cars and light trucks primarily designed, developed, made in, or supplied from North Korea, China, Russia, or Iran.
The proposed ban also covers automakers in which either those countries, or people and companies tied to them, own or control more than 15%, the text states.
Software from those four countries would be barred starting with 2027 vehicle models while their connectivity hardware from would be banned from 2030 on. The commerce secretary, however, could still approve exceptions.
“Legislation is needed to ensure that there are safeguards to defend U.S. national security, ensure a fair competitive market, and to protect American workers,” Will Chou, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, said in a statement to the DCNF.
“The national security and economic threat posed by Chinese-made automobiles is one of the rare issues on which there is overwhelming bipartisan agreement,” Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul also said in a statement to the DCNF. “Congress must pass a full-strength bill as quickly as possible to ensure that President Trump doesn’t welcome in Chinese companies looking to set up shop in America.”
Source: Daily Caller
