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By Kyle Davidson, Michigan Advance

Drawing on data security and economic competitiveness concerns, members of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee voted unanimously to advance a bill that would ban Chinese vehicles equipped with wireless communication capabilities from being sold or operated on American soil.

Introduced by U.S. Sens. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) and Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), the Connected Vehicle Security Act of 2026 aims to protect the U.S. auto industry, while ensuring vehicles with software or hardware linked to China or other adversarial nations cannot be used to collect data in the states.

“Chinese cars are surveillance packages on wheels, with the ability to collect on American citizens and transmit that data back to Beijing,” Slotkin said in a statement. “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.”

If passed into law, restrictions on connected vehicles and software would take effect in 2027, with restrictions on hardware taking effect in 2030. The legislation also establishes procedures for compliance, binding rulings for U.S. Customs and Border Protection and civil penalties to ensure any prohibited items are kept out of the country.

The legislation also earned support from Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers.

“The American Dream was launched and sustained out of good union auto jobs here in the United States,” Fain said in a statement. “If we want to rebuild US manufacturing and raise standards for the working class, we can’t keep offshoring and outsourcing our auto industry, driving a global race to the bottom for short term corporate profits. Our US auto industry must invest in cutting-edge technology and build affordable, high-quality vehicles for the American consumer, built by UAW autoworkers.”

The bill awaits further action by the Senate.

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