拜登提議禁止中國車輛和「連網汽車」技術使用美國的道路

Recently Yahoo News on-line picked up the following:

Biden proposes banning Chinese vehicles, 'connected car' technology from US roads

Updated Mon, September 23, 2024 at 9:24 a.m. PDT·3 min read

Reuters - By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Commerce Department on Monday proposed prohibiting key Chinese software and hardware in connected vehicles on American roads due to national security concerns, a move that would effectively bar Chinese cars and trucks from the U.S. market.

The planned regulation, first reported by Reuters, would also force American and other major automakers in years ahead to remove key Chinese software and hardware from vehicles in the United States.

President Joe Biden's administration has raised concerns about data collection by connected Chinese vehicles on U.S. drivers and infrastructure and potential foreign manipulation of vehicles connected to the internet and navigation systems. In February, the White House ordered an investigation.

The proposed prohibitions would prevent testing of self-driving cars on U.S. roads by Chinese automakers and extend to vehicle software and hardware produced by Russia and could be extended to other U.S. adversaries.

The proposal would make software prohibitions effective in the 2027 model year. The hardware ban would take effect in the 2030 model year or January 2029.

The Commerce Department is giving the public 30 days to comment on the proposal and hopes to finalize it by Jan. 20. The rules would cover all on-road vehicles but exclude agricultural or mining vehicles not used on public roads, as well as drones and trains.

The move is a significant escalation in U.S. restrictions on Chinese vehicles, software and components. This month, the Biden administration locked in steep tariff hikes on Chinese imports, including a 100% duty on electric vehicles and hikes on EV batteries and key minerals.

"When foreign adversaries build software to make a vehicle that means it can be used for surveillance, can be remotely controlled, which threatens the privacy and safety of Americans on the road," Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said. "In an extreme situation, a foreign adversary could shut down or take control of all their vehicles operating in the United States all at the same time causing crashes, blocking roads."

There are relatively few Chinese-made cars or light-duty trucks imported into the U.S. Raimondo said the department is acting "before suppliers, automakers and car components linked to China or Russia become commonplace and widespread ... We're not going to wait until our roads are filled with cars and the risk is extremely significant."

Nearly all newer cars and trucks are considered "connected" with onboard network hardware for internet access, allowing sharing of data with devices inside and outside the vehicle.

The Commerce Department said the rule would amount to a ban on all vehicles manufactured in China but would allow Chinese automakers to seek "specific authorizations" for exemptions.

 "We anticipate at this point that any vehicle that is manufactured in China and sold in the U.S. would fall within the prohibitions," said Liz Cannon, who heads the Commerce Department's information and communications technology office.

She added the regulation would force General Motors and Ford Motor to stop selling vehicles imported from China in the U.S.

The U.S. has ample evidence of China prepositioning malware in critical American infrastructure, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told the briefing.

"With potentially millions of vehicles on the road, each with 10- to 15-year lifespans the risk of disruption and sabotage increases dramatically," Sullivan said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian said China urges Washington "to respect market principles and provide Chinese companies with an open, fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory business environment. China will firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests."

The Alliance For Automotive Innovation, a group representing major automakers including GM, Toyota, Volkswagen and Hyundai, said some automakers may need more time to comply.

The group said there is "very little" connected vehicle hardware or software "that enters the U.S. from China. But this rule will require auto manufacturers in some cases to find alternate suppliers."

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and David Gregorio)

Translation

拜登提議禁止中國車輛和「連網汽車」技術使用美國的道路

華盛頓（路透社） - 出於國家安全考慮，美國商務部周一提議禁止在美國道路上行駛的聯網車輛使用關鍵的中國軟件和硬件，此舉將有效禁止中國汽車和卡車進入美國市場。

路透社最先報導的這項計劃中的法規還將迫使美國和其他主要汽車製造商在未來幾年從美國汽車上刪除關鍵的中國軟件和硬件。

美國總統拜登政府對中國聯網車輛收集美國駕駛員和基礎設施數據, 以及外國可能操縱聯網和導航系統的車輛表示擔憂。在 2月，白宮下令進行調查。

提議的禁令將阻止中國汽車製造商在美國道路上測試自動駕駛汽車，並擴大到俄羅斯生產的汽車軟件和硬件，亦可能擴大到其他美國對手。

該提案將使軟件的禁令在 2027 年車型年生效。硬件的禁令將對 2030 年款式, 或在2029 年 1 月生效。

商務部給予公眾30 天的時間對該提案發表評論，並希望在1 月20 日之前完成。該規則將涵蓋所有道路車輛，但不包括使用公共道路上的農業或採礦車輛，以及無人機和火車。

此舉標誌著美國對中國車輛、軟件和零件的限制大幅升級。本月，拜登政府鎖定對中國進口產品大幅加徵關稅，包括對電動車徵收 100% 的關稅，以及對電動車電池和關鍵礦物加徵關稅。

美國商務部長Gina Raimondo表示：“當外國對手開發軟件來製造車輛時，這意味著它可以用於監視、可以遠程控制，這會威脅到美國人在路上的隱私和安全。” “在極端情況下，外國對手可能會同時關閉或控制在美國運營的所有車輛，從而導致撞車事故、堵塞道路。”

進口到美國的中國製造的汽車或輕型貨車相對較少。Raimondo說，其部門正“在與中國或俄羅斯有關供的應商、汽車製造商和汽車零部件變得司空见惯及普遍之前採取行動...... 我們不會等待到道路上擠滿了汽車，這風險是非常大的”。

幾乎所有較新的汽車和卡車都被認為與車載網路硬件「連接」以進行互聯網接通，從而允許車內設備和外部的設備共享資料。

美國商務部表示，該規定相當於禁止所有在中國製造的汽車，但將允許中國汽車製造商尋求豁免的「指定授權」。

美國商務部的資訊與通訊技術辦公室主任 Liz Cannon 表示：“我們預計任何目前在中國製造並在美國銷售的車輛都將受到禁令的限制。”

她補充說，該規定將迫使通用汽車和福特汽車停止在美國銷售從中國進口的汽車。

白宮國家安全顧問Jake Sullivan在簡報會上表示，美國有充分證據顯示中國在美國關鍵基礎設施中預先部署了惡意軟體。

Sullivan說： “道路上可能有數百萬輛車輛，每輛車輛的使用壽命有 10 到 15 年，因此擾亂和破壞的風險急劇增加。”

中國外交部發言人Lin Jian表示，中方敦促美方 “尊重市場原則，為中國企業提供開放、公平、透明、非歧視的營商環境。中方將堅定維護自身合法權益。”

代表通用汽車、豐田、大眾和現代等主要汽車製造商的汽車創新聯盟 表示，一些汽車製造商可能需要更多時間來依從。

該組織表示，只有 ”非常少” 的連網汽車硬件或軟件「從中國進入美國, 但該規則將要求汽車製造商在某些情況下尋找替代供應商」。

So, the U.S. has proposed prohibiting key Chinese software and hardware in connected vehicles on American roads due to national security concerns, a move that would effectively bar Chinese cars and trucks from the U.S. market. I tend to see this decision carries a connotation of decoupling from China's EV manufacturing.