New US rule would require GM and Ford to halt imports of cars they build in China, official says

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – General Motors and Ford Motor should stop importing vehicles into the U.S. from China under a proposed rule to crack down on Chinese software and hardware, a U.S. Department of State official told Reuters on Monday. US trade.

The rule would also affect other automakers that sell or build vehicles in the US, such as Volvo Cars and BYD.

GM sells the Buick Envision and Ford sells the Lincoln Nautilus — both assembled in China — in the US market. Ford did not comment. In the first six months of 2024, GM sold about 22,000 Envisions and Ford sold 17,500 Nautilus SUVs in the US.

“We anticipate at this point that any vehicle that is manufactured in China and sold in the U.S. will come under the bans,” said Liz Cannon, who heads the Commerce Department’s office of information and communications technology.

GM and Ford are aware, she added, that “in the future” production in China for the U.S. market “should be stopped in China and moved elsewhere.”

GM did not address whether it thinks it will have to stop sales of the Envision, but added that “the government has an important role to play in setting clear policies” on safety issues.

Commerce said it would allow companies to apply for “specific authorization” to continue sales of vehicles or components.

China’s BYD North America, a unit of BYD that builds electric buses in Lancaster, California, could be affected. The company did not immediately comment.

“We’re going to have to work with them to better understand their supply chain,” Cannon said. “He will have to come in for a specific authorization.”

For example, software would likely be banned if it was developed by a team of Chinese employees in that country for a Chinese car manufacturer. But the software would probably be allowed if it was developed by Chinese employees working in another country for a non-Chinese company.

Reuters reported in May that four Chinese vehicle models are being sold in the US, including the Polestar 2 and the Volvo S90 sedans. Polestar and Volvo are subsidiaries of the Chinese car manufacturer Geely.

Cannon said he expects companies like Volvo to meet with Commerce “to work with us to discuss ways they could mitigate the risk, and we’re open to that,” and the agency could grant them a permit.

Volvo Cars said: “We are reviewing the proposal from the US Department of Commerce and are considering any potential impact it may have on us and the US auto industry.”

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by David Gregorio)