Connected cars tied to China could be blocked at the border

For automakers, importers and dealers, the practical effect would be simple: some connected vehicles could not enter the United States at all. Representative Haley Stevens introduced the bill in the House on June 4, and it would bar connected vehicles associated with covered countries from being brought into the country if their origin or design ties them to those places, or if their maker is too closely controlled from there.

The measure is aimed at connected vehicles, which are cars and trucks built to talk to other devices and networks through wireless systems. That makes the issue bigger than a standard import rule. It is about who gets to sell cars that can send, receive and process data as part of everyday driving.

Where the line gets drawn

The bill uses two main tests. A vehicle could be blocked if its country of origin is a covered country, or if it was designed there. It could also be blocked if more than 15% of the manufacturer’s equity, voting interest, board representation or other control is tied to entities organized in, or based in, a covered country.

The covered countries in the bill are North Korea, China, Russia and Iran. That means the measure is not written as a general ban on all foreign-made cars. It is narrower, and at the same time more exacting, because it also follows ownership and control through joint ventures and subsidiaries.

A narrow testing carveout

The bill leaves room for vehicles that are not meant for public roads and are brought in only for testing and evaluation. Even that exception comes with guardrails: the testing entity has to be organized in a U.S. state, cannot have its main business in a covered country, and cannot be 25% or more owned or controlled by a covered-country entity.

That narrowness matters because it shows what the bill is trying to protect against. It is not only the finished vehicle at the border, but the networked technology inside it, and the foreign control behind the company that makes it. The bill would also require new regulations and a public list of covered vehicles before the ban takes effect.