Washington, June 3: A senior U.S. lawmaker has expressed concerns regarding the Commerce Department’s decision to allow a foreign vehicle manufacturer closely tied to China to sell and produce ‘connected vehicles’ in the United States.
Democratic Representative Debbie Dingell from Michigan warned that this could expose sensitive data, weaken national security measures, and create loopholes in the restrictions aimed at keeping Chinese technology out of the American auto market.
In a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Luttonick, Dingell questioned a recent approval granted by the Office of Information and Communications Technology and Services (OICTS), which was issued despite the administration’s ‘connected vehicle’ safety restrictions.
Dingell stated, “The Commerce Department finalized these rules because connected vehicle technology poses clear threats to national security.”
She noted that modern connected vehicles are capable of collecting and transmitting large amounts of sensitive information, including geolocation data, driving patterns, infrastructure mapping, operational diagnostics, and consumer personal information.
“These systems can facilitate remote access to vehicle functions. As the department itself has acknowledged, this technology is vulnerable to misuse by our adversaries and could be used for espionage, intelligence gathering, or damaging critical infrastructure,” she added.
Dingell argued that this approval appears to create a pathway for companies with significant ownership, operational, or governance ties to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to maintain access to the U.S. market, despite the original intent of the connected vehicle regulations.
She wrote, “It seems this approval creates a pathway for entities with substantial ties to the PRC to continue operating in our market, undermining the original purpose of the connected vehicle regulations.”
The congresswoman emphasized that Congress and subsequent administrations have recognized that Chinese companies operate under laws that may compel them to collaborate with Beijing and its intelligence agencies.
She further stated, “These concerns cannot be alleviated merely by corporate restructuring, branding changes, or supply chain adjustments.”
Dingell also warned that granting exemptions to China-linked companies could undermine the effectiveness of existing exemption and approval processes.
She wrote, “This decision raises broader concerns about whether current approval and exemption processes could inadvertently create loopholes that weaken the effectiveness of the regulations. Allowing PRC-linked entities to continue operating in our market through exemptions or special approvals poses a risk to the very security measures these regulations were designed to establish.”
In addition to security concerns, Dingell pointed out that China’s automotive industry benefits from “extensive government support, excessive production capacity in the industry, unfair trade and labor practices, and distorted market conditions,” which threaten the long-term competitiveness of the U.S. auto sector.
She wrote, “We cannot afford to repeat the mistakes that have weakened our vital manufacturing sector due to unfair competition and foreign subsidies.”
The lawmaker has requested information from the Commerce Department regarding the basis for this approval and its potential impact on the implementation and compliance of the ‘connected vehicle’ regulations. She inquired about the criteria used to determine that this approval posed no threat to national security, what security measures were applied to the company, and what coordination was conducted with intelligence and national security agencies before making this decision.
Dingell also sought clarification on whether similar approvals could be granted to other entities linked to foreign adversaries and what plans the department has to prevent companies from circumventing restrictions through corporate relationships, joint ventures, licensing agreements, or indirect ownership structures.
The global automotive industry is closely monitoring this issue as vehicles increasingly connect with each other through software, sensors, and data networks. Concerns over data security, supply chains, and foreign influence have become central topics in policy debates in major markets like the U.S. and Europe.
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