Legislation in the US Senate that would ban the sale of vehicles and vehicle technology linked to countries such as China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, including Chinese LiDAR systems used in some autonomous vehicles, has cleared its first Congressional hurdle, according to US-based trucking news website CCJ Digital.
The “Connected Vehicle Security Act (SB 4429)” was approved last week by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and referred to the full Senate for a vote. The legislation was introduced in April by Senator Bernie Moreno.
The bipartisan legislation would prohibit the importation, manufacture, and sale of connected vehicles, software, and hardware linked to China and other adversaries.
“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,” Sen Moreno said. “For decades, DC globalists propped up Chinese businesses – now it’s time for Congress to stop this cancer before it spreads through the American auto market.”
The bill also gives authority to the Department of Commerce to identify and block high-risk vehicle technologies, components, and transactions that threaten US economic or national security; establishes enforcement mechanisms to ensure prohibited technologies are kept out of the US market; and phases implementation with vehicle and software restrictions taking effect in 2027, and hardware restrictions in 2030, giving US industry time secure domestic supply.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, representing owner-operators and small trucking businesses, applauded the Senate’s move to advance the bill. The organization highlighted a= February 2026 financial report from autonomous truck developer Aurora, which noted that enacting bills that “prohibit and/or condition the use of Chinese-origin lidar in autonomous vehicles” and impact the company’s “ability to procure or use such products or components could materially and adversely affect our technology, operating plans, and commercialization timelines.”
(Picture: Yay Images)
