Two U.S. lawmakers are set to introduce a bill aimed at preventing Chinese-connected vehicles from entering the United States via Canada and Mexico, amid growing concerns over Chinese-made electric vehicles entering the Canadian market.
U.S. Representative Haley Stevens and Senator Elissa Slotkin, both Democrats, announced the Protecting America from Chinese Cars Act last week at a conference in Michigan.
The bill would prohibit connected vehicles from China and other “adversarial nations” from entering the United States, including vehicles made or designed in China, as well as vehicles made by a Chinese company or an entity more than 15 percent owned by Chinese companies, according to a May 28 press release from Stevens’s office.
It would also establish a process for vehicle manufacturers to apply for specific authorization to allow otherwise prohibited vehicles to enter the United States. Authorization would only be granted under “strict conditions, with both transparency and congressional oversight.”
Federal authorities in Canada have also raised concerns that connected vehicles could pose security and privacy risks if the data they collect falls into the wrong hands.
In a memo, Public Safety Canada said Canada must expand its economy in response to a changing geopolitical environment, but warned that opening its markets to “new players” could also “amplify the presence of high-risk vendors.”
The department said unauthorized access to data and connected vehicle systems “could be used to establish patterns of life or conduct surveillance on sensitive sites.” It also said national security laws in countries such as China can compel manufacturers and suppliers to share data with their home governments or police, increasing the risk that Canadian data could be exploited.
A one-page readout on the U.S. bill says connected vehicles would threaten U.S. national security if the information collected “were to fall into the hands of our adversaries.”
“Vehicles today can collect and transmit massive amounts of data – geolocation of drivers, mapping of critical infrastructure, full-motion video, and more,” the readout says.
Connected vehicles could also be “remotely accessed and tampered with,” presenting a “tremendous” risk to U.S. safety and security, the readout says, noting the Chinese auto industry is heavily subsidized, allowing Beijing to “undercut competitors and quickly flood new markets.”
“The Chinese Communist Party should never have access to sensitive information about American drivers, roads, or critical infrastructure,” Stevens said in a statement, adding that the bill would “close dangerous loopholes” that currently allow Chinese connected vehicles to enter the United States through Canada and Mexico.
Hellbound and Down 