Outgoing Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the United States will finalize final rules targeting Chinese cars and connected car software next week.
Biden administration Rules proposed in September Banning the use of critical Chinese software and hardware in connected vehicles on U.S. roads due to national security concerns.
“We want the industry's voice to be heard. We have to get things done. We've digested all these comments and now we're going to speak out,” Raimondo told Reuters in an interview.
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“That's really important because we don't want to have 2 million Chinese cars on the road and then realize…we have a threat.”
The White House approved the final rule late Tuesday, according to the government website.
The proposed rules would effectively ban Chinese cars and trucks from entering the U.S. market.
Major global automakers will also have to remove critical Chinese software and hardware from cars sold in the United States in the coming years.
The proposed rules would put the software ban into effect for the 2027 model year and the hardware ban starting in 2029, but industry groups have called on officials to extend those deadlines.
The Automotive Innovation Alliance, which represents General Motors Co., Toyota Motor Corp., Volkswagen AG, Hyundai Motor Co. and other major automakers, in October sought an extension of at least another year to meet the hardware requirements.
The Consumer Technology Association said both deadlines should be extended by two years, as is Honda, to allow for “critical testing, verification and necessary contract updates.”
However, despite the Biden administration's push to finalize the rules, their implementation will depend on President-elect Trump, who takes office in a little more than a week.
Trump has maintained a tough stance on Chinese exports and named Cabinet members who are outspoken critics of Beijing, but he has also said he remains open to Chinese automakers producing vehicles in the United States.
“We're going to provide incentives so that if China and other countries want to come here and sell cars, they're going to build factories here and hire our workers,” Trump said on the campaign trail.
- Vishakha Saxena Additional Editor, Reuters
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