Bipartisan bill to ban Chinese vehicles and parts introduced
A bipartisan federal bill to ban Chinese vehicles and parts has been introduced by Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Michigan).
A press release from the senators says that the Connected Vehicle Security Act of 2026 defends the American auto industry against the existential threat of predatory Chinese automobiles.
Last month, Ford CEO Gim Farley talked to Fox News about how Chinese vehicles could devastate the American economy. His comments followed an opinion piece by John Bozzella, CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation (Auto Innovators) in Automotive News, regarding concerns about Chinese automakers.
“The American auto industry is the backbone of the American industrial economy; we cannot afford to make the same mistakes globalists have made for decades and see these great American companies devastated by predatory and massively subsidized Chinese state enterprises hellbent on the destruction of our economy,” said Moreno in his press release. “As Europe, Mexico, and others allow their markets to be overrun by Chinese predators, the U.S. must act before it’s too late. The answer is simple: Chinese vehicles can never be allowed into the U.S. market — the fate of the American auto industry and countless autoworkers depends on it.”
Slotkin commented that Chinese cars are a serious threat to America’s national security and Michigan’s economic security.
“Chinese cars are surveillance packages on wheels, with the ability to collect on American citizens and sensitive sites,” Slotkin said. “The Chinese Communist Party’s playbook of heavily subsidizing their product, underselling the competition, and then having a monopoly over that sector puts Michigan’s auto industry and our millions of workers at risk. We need to act now and get this right. I look forward to continued work on this bill with Senator Moreno, our workers, our manufacturers, and anyone else to stop Chinese vehicles from ever coming into the United States.”
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a rule banning Chinese and Russian-connected vehicle technology last year.
NBC News reports that Moreno and Stolkin spoke about the importance of codifying the effort into law.
Their joint press release also notes that the bill establishes enforcement mechanisms to ensure prohibited technologies are kept out of the U.S. market.
The bill is also in line with the BIS rule by phasing implementation with vehicle and software restrictions starting in 2027 and hardware restrictions in 2030 to give the U.S. industry time to secure domestic supply.
NBC notes that the bill comes weeks ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Last week, 70 House Democrats signed a letter expressing concern about Trump’s remarks on allowing Chinese automakers access to the U.S. Market.
Reuters reports that Trump said in January he was open to letting Chinese automakers build vehicles in the U.S.
“If they want to come in and build a plant and hire you and hire your friends and your neighbors, that’s great; I love that,” Reuters says he told the Detroit Economic Club.
The letter sent by Democrats echoes some concerns made by OEMs recently.
“The Chinese auto industry does not compete on a level playing field,” the letter says. “It is driven by a state-directed strategy to dominate global markets through government subsidies, below-market financing, and non-market behavior across the supply chain. These advantages are compounded by exploitative labor practices, including suppressed wages, lack of worker protections, and credible reports of forced labor, creating structural advantages that no American company operating under fair labor standards can match.”
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Photo of Geely Automobile Factory in Linhai City, Zhejiang Province. (Courtesy of xieyuliang/iStock)