The US wants to put an end to Chinese car software from 2027.
The U.S. Commerce Department on Monday released a proposal that would ban crucial Chinese driver software from U.S. roads starting in 2027, citing “national security.” The term requires relatively little evidentiary weight, meaning the U.S. could potentially implement the measure quickly without much trouble within the World Trade Organization (WTO).
If the government implements this measure, all Chinese cars – or foreign cars with embedded Chinese software – would be banned from sale in the U.S. It would also force Japanese and European automakers, such as Toyota and Volkswagen, to overhaul their production processes.
The US government says it is concerned about data collection by Chinese companies, as well as the manipulation of ‘smart’ cars, which could be hacked and used “strategically” to undermine American society, the government says.
Increased import tariff
“We have ample examples of Chinese malware in our infrastructure,” security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a briefing Monday. The measure would go a step further than the recently increased import tariffs on Chinese cars.
China is also trying to prevent foreign carmakers from freely testing their self-driving software in China. It only grants limited licenses, or limits the licenses to certain cities. This is a problem for Tesla, among others. (gina)