US to issue rule on Chinese connected vehicles

The United States has announced its intention to take action against Chinese-made connected cars, citing national security threats. The announcement, which broadens the war front between the U.S. and China, follows recent export restrictions and hefty tariffs imposed by the U.S. The specific rules are expected to be announced this fall.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo (pictured) said on Wednesday (local time) during a Senate hearing that the decision was made as they are "very serious issues."

“We expect to have a rule out this fall,” Secretary Raimondo said. This statement came just a day after the U.S. government announced a 2-4 times increase in tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), batteries, general-purpose semiconductors, medical devices, and solar products.

The forthcoming regulations on connected cars are essentially targeted at China's EV business, a strategic sector for the country. On Tuesday, President Joe Biden declared, “We will not allow Chinese vehicles to flood into America,” asserting that the future of the EV market will be “Made in America.”

Secretary Raimondo emphasized the national security risks posed by Chinese connected cars, highlighting that Chinese software controls thousands of sensors and chips in these vehicles. "They can know where the driver is going and what is being said inside the car," she said. She compared the threat to that posed by TikTok, stating, “This means a vast amount of data on Americans goes straight to Beijing.”

Secretary Raimondo also stressed that the U.S. would take "all necessary measures" to prevent Chinese products from being re-exported through Mexico, a member of the USMCA free trade agreement with the United States. The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) also hinted the previous day that measures to block such re-exports were imminent.

China has reacted strongly to these moves. On Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying posted on social media a remark by Biden from 2019, when he criticized the Trump administration's tariffs on Chinese goods, saying, "Trump thinks China is paying tariffs. Any freshmen econ student could tell you that the American people are paying his tariffs,” mocking Biden's recent claim that the tariffs hike on Chinese products is "for Americans.”


이지윤 기자 asap@donga.com