US senators introduce bipartisan bill to ban Chinese vehicles, auto parts

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced legislation that would ban the import of Chinese-made vehicles, auto parts and automotive software, escalating efforts in Congress to restrict Chinese access to the American auto market on national security grounds.

The Connected Vehicle Security Act, led by Senator Bernie Moreno, a Republican from Ohio, and Senator Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat from Michigan, seeks to codify and expand existing Commerce Department restrictions on vehicles and components linked to China and other countries deemed adversarial, Caliber.Az reports via U.S. media.

The move comes weeks ahead of a planned meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, with lawmakers signalling concern over potential trade concessions. The Commerce Department last year issued rules limiting such imports, but sponsors of the bill argue statutory backing is needed to strengthen enforcement.

“We are watching very closely what deals come out of that summit,” Slotkin said.

Moreno said the legislation would extend restrictions across the supply chain. “What we do is we take that model of the [Commerce Department’s] Connected Vehicle Rule and expand it so that [it covers] basically the entire supply chain, but also clarify we don’t allow the importation of the cars, even on a temporary basis, into the U.S.,” he said in an interview. “So we are hermetically sealing the U.S. market from the Chinese auto industry.”

Supporters of the bill, including the United Auto Workers and General Motors, have framed the measure as both an industrial and security safeguard, warning that connected vehicles could be used for surveillance.

“By building on and strengthening the existing connected vehicles rule, this legislation puts common sense guardrails on a major threat to our nation’s auto industry,” United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain said in a statement.

Lawmakers also pointed to broader economic pressures, including energy market volatility, as a factor shaping consumer demand for cheaper imported vehicles.

“We all understand that with the economy the way it is in the United States that people are looking for cheaper cars,” Slotkin said. “People are really, really pressed right now from every direction, and the one thing that had come down in price over the past year was gas, and now that’s spiked up because of the war.”

“But as leaders, we have a responsibility to say, ‘Look, this is a driving surveillance package, it’s like TikTok on wheels,” she added. “We all understand the price constraints, but we have a responsibility to protect people’s security.”