One of the last acts of President Joe Biden’s administration is to engineer a split in the global auto market. On Tuesday, Washington imposed a ban, opens new tab on the sale and import of connected cars and related technology from China. Concerns over data security are compelling, even if the benefits for General Motors, Ford Motor and others of keeping out both competitors and suppliers remain debatable. That means the policy is likely to last – and could catch on elsewhere. The Department of Commerce’s measures, which will be phased in gradually beginning with the model year 2027, aim to protect U.S. supply chains and national security, according to a release from the White House on Tuesday. The economic rationale is dubious. Policymakers want to shelter incumbents from aggressive foreign rivals. True, there are more American pioneers to protect in autonomous driving, compared with electric cars, where Chinese marques already have an indisputable lead. Mobileye Global, founded in Israel and now owned by Intel, supplied its assisted-driving solutions to 13 of the world’s 15 leading carmakers at the time of its listing, opens new tab in 2022, for instance.

Full report : US ban on Chinese auto tech signals decisive split in global market.