A chief at the US Commerce Department has said it plans to issue proposed rules on connected vehicles and expects to impose limits on software made in China and other countries deemed ‘adversaries’, Reuters reports.
Speaking at a forum in Colorado, Alan Estevez, Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security, reportedly said the department was looking at a “few components and some software” in cars would have to be made in an “allied country.”
He added that: "A car is a very scary thing. Your car knows a lot about you.”
These comments are the most definitive so far date about the administration's plans on Chinese vehicles, Reuters adds.
Earlier in May, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the department planned to issue proposed rules on Chinese-connected vehicles this autumn.
In January, Ms Raimondo held a called with Minister of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Wang Wentao and said that US national security “is not negotiable”. She also emphasised that the government’s “small yard, high fence” approach is “not about containing China’s economic development.”
The Chinese foreign ministry has consistently maintained that Chinese cars are popular globally because they emerged out of “fierce market competition” and are technologically innovative.
