New U.S. rule would require GM, Ford to halt imports of cars they build in China, official says

General Motors and Ford Motor would need to stop importing vehicles to the U.S. from China under a proposed rule, per a U.S. Commerce Department official.

General Motors and Ford Motor would need to stop importing vehicles to the U.S. from China under a proposed rule cracking down on Chinese software and hardware, a U.S. Commerce Department official told Reuters Monday.

The rule would also affect other automakers selling or building vehicles in the U.S., such as Volvo Cars and BYD.

GM sells the Buick Envision and Ford sells the Lincoln Nautilus -- both assembled in China -- in the U.S. 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 U.S.

"We anticipate at this point that any vehicle that is manufactured in China and sold in the U.S. would fall within the prohibitions," said Liz Cannon, who heads the Commerce Department's information and communications technology office.

GM and Ford are aware, she added, that "going forward" that production in China for the U.S. market "would need to be shut down in China and moved elsewhere."

GM did not address if it thought it would have to halt sales of the Envision but added the "government has an important role to set clear policies" on security issues.

Commerce said it would allow companies to seek a "specific authorization" to continue sales of vehicles or components.