US Senator Elissa Slotkin will now give the country's Commerce Department the power to ban Chinese cars. And even though the cars are already about to be banned.
Senator Elissa Slotkin will give the US Commerce Department the power to ban Chinese cars and parts for national security and data concerns.
Senator Elissa Slotkin introduced a bill in the United States on April 10. The bill deals with Chinese cars and the threat that the senator believes the car poses to national security.
The bill is called the Connected Vehicle National Secretary Review Act. It would give the US Department of Commerce more power. The department would be able to ban the import of connected vehicles.
This is reported by CBS News .
The ban can come into effect if the cars pose a safety risk. This also applies to individual car parts from China.
Elissa Slotkin, a former CIA officer and Pentagon official who has long worked on cases involving Chinese vehicles, believes a ban is necessary because Chinese electric cars in particular collect data on drivers.
And she's not alone in her fears. A Swedish professor of cybersecurity warned last year against revealing Volvo secrets because the brand is owned by Chinese Geely. Read more about it here .
Slotkin sees a threat to the United States and Americans. She points to data on people and infrastructure. Michigan's auto industry is also at risk, she believes.
The focus of the law and the background to it
The bill does not focus on all cars built in China. Cars from, for example, Ford, which are produced in China, are not the main target. The focus is on products from Chinese companies with ties to the country's government.
The proposal is seen in light of trade policy between the US and China. It builds on previous actions. Both the Biden and Trump administrations have investigated threats from Chinese products.
Slotkin introduced a similar bill in 2024, when she was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Her work on the subject is not new.
Currently, Chinese automakers do not sell any cars in the United States. Brands like BYD and SAIC are not present in the American market. New tariffs make that even less likely.
Some believe the bill is unnecessary. This is because there are no Chinese cars on the market. The tariff walls are already high.
The market for electric cars in the USA and the future
The bill may have limited practical significance now. There is no direct import to stop. It is seen as a preventive measure.
The debate over data collection continues. The counterargument is that China can obtain data in other ways. Cars are not the only way to get information.
The situation means that American consumers are missing out on products. Some Chinese cars are seen as good alternatives. However, they are not available in the United States due to trade policy.
