Biden administration seeks ban on auto software from China
- info@sarkarinaukari.guru
- 0
- Posted on
The Biden administration recently announced a sweeping plan to ban Chinese software and certain hardware from internet-connected cars in the US. It’s being framed as a national security measure, with the administration saying that the software “poses new threats to our national security, including through our supply chains.”
This is the same reasoning behind recent bans on telecommunications equipment from Chinese companies like Huawei and ZTE. In that case, the claims had merit, as documents reportedly revealed how Huawei was involved in the country’s surveillance efforts.
Today’s announcement says that China “may use critical technologies from connected vehicles within our supply chains” for “surveillance and subversion to undermine national security.” The rules announced today go beyond just software.
It will also cover any hardware that connects the vehicle to the outside world, including Bluetooth, cellular, Wi-Fi and satellite components. It also includes cameras, sensors and onboard computers. The software ban would go into effect in model year 2027, while the corresponding hardware ban would begin in model year 2030.
The proposed ban also includes Russian auto software. The country has a fairly robust EV industry, but primarily for domestic use. Russia doesn’t have anything that is as globally loved as cheap EVs from Chinese companies like BYD.
This leads us to a key point. While this proposed ban is primarily for internet-connected software, it would effectively block all Chinese auto imports. The software is largely ready-made, as well as the items of hardware that allow connectivity. It’s already hard to get one of these vehicles into the US due to the recently imposed tariffs on Chinese EVs, but this would make it nearly impossible.
However, government officials have firmly stated that this is a move to improve national security, not to ban cheap EVs from another market. “Connected vehicles and the technology they use bring new vulnerabilities and threats, particularly in the case of vehicles or components developed in the P.R.C. [People’s Republic of China] and other countries of concern,” said Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s national security adviser. These comments were given to reporters over the weekend and were reported in writing by The New York Times.
Sullivan referenced something called Volt Typhoon, an alleged Chinese effort to insert malicious code into U.S. power systems, pipelines and other critical infrastructure. U.S. officials fear the program could be used to cripple U.S. military bases in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan or a similar military operation.
Peter Harrell, who was previously the National Security Council’s senior director for international economics during the Biden administration, told The New York Times that “this is likely to open the door, over many years, to very broad government actions” that “will likely continue” no matter who wins the presidential election.
It’s worth noting that the BYD Seagull, for example, sells for around $10,000. That makes it a lot cheaper than a US EV, even with a 100 percent tariff imposed on it. A full-featured EV for $20,000 sounds pretty good right now. Nice. It was fun to dream.