Critical Shifts:
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Unanimous Bipartisan Momentum: Introduced by Sens. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), the bill cleared the Senate Commerce Committee with unanimous approval, advancing it to the full Senate floor.
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Dual Economic & National Security Mandate: The legislation blocks state-subsidized foreign auto imports to shield American manufacturing while cutting off potential espionage from connected vehicles transmitting driver data back to foreign adversaries.
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Phased Two-Stage Timeline: Bans vehicles and software linked to China and other foreign adversaries starting in 2027, followed by hardware restrictions in 2030 to give U.S. supply chains time to adapt.
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U.S. Senator Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) praised the passage of his bipartisan Connected Vehicle Security Act of 2026 out of the Senate Commerce Committee. The bill passed unanimously, setting it up for consideration by the full Senate.
Moreno and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) introduced the bill to defend the American auto industry from the existential threat of predatory Chinese automobiles by banning them and their connected components from the American market. This bill would prohibit the import, sale, and operation of vehicles manufactured in China—or any other country of concern—and ban the use of Chinese-developed connected vehicle technologies, such as software, and data systems on American roads.
“China’s auto industry was not built to compete, it was built to destroy American manufacturing, gut the middle class, and undermine our national security,” said Moreno. “For decades, D.C. globalists propped up Chinese businesses—now it’s time for Congress to stop this cancer before it spreads through the American auto market.”
The Connected Vehicle Security Act of 2026:
- Bans foreign adversary vehicles by prohibiting the importation, manufacture, sale, and resale of connected vehicles, software, and hardware linked to China or other foreign adversaries, including those from joint ventures or entities under their control;
- Empowers the Department of Commerce to identify and block high-risk vehicle technologies, components, and transactions that threaten U.S. economic or national security;
- Establishes enforcement mechanisms to ensure prohibited technologies are kept out of the U.S. market; and
- Phases implementation with vehicle and software restrictions taking effect in 2027, and hardware restrictions in 2030, giving U.S. industry time secure domestic supply, in line with the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) Connected Vehicles rule.
“Chinese cars are surveillance packages on wheels, with the ability to collect on American citizens and transmit that data back to Beijing, said Slotkin. “The Chinese Communist Party’s playbook of heavily subsidizing their product and underselling the competition puts Michigan’s auto industry and millions of American workers at risk. I’m proud to see my bill advance out of committee today with unanimous bipartisan support, and I’m looking forward to working alongside Senator Moreno, the American auto industry, and labor to get it over the finish line.”
