STOP China Act

Summary#

This bill adds new limits on using federal transportation money to buy certain vehicles or vehicle technologies from companies tied to specified foreign nations. It defines "covered entity," "covered nation," "covered vehicle," and "electric power train." The United States Trade Representative (USTR), with the Attorney General and the Transportation Secretary, must publish a public list of covered entities within 30 days and update it regularly. After enactment, covered federal funds may not be used to award contracts to procure covered vehicles or to build, install, or maintain charging or fueling infrastructure for covered buses bought under contracts signed after enactment. The bill keeps narrow exceptions for vehicle inspection, investigation, safety research, development, and testing. It applies similar prohibitions to other Department of Transportation appropriations and includes a severability clause.

What it means for you#

• Transit agencies and contractors that get covered federal funding cannot use that money to buy rolling stock or electric power trains from entities on the USTR list, or to build charging/fueling infrastructure for buses bought under new contracts after the law starts.
• The USTR will publish and update a list of covered companies. Agencies should check that list before using covered funds.
• There are allowed uses for inspections, investigations, and vehicle safety research or testing.

Expenses#

No publicly available information.

Proponents' View#

The bill says certain foreign nations use industrial policies to distort markets and create dependence on imports. It states that adopting those nations' technologies in U.S. transportation can pose national security risks and harm U.S. competitiveness. The bill argues U.S. taxpayer dollars should not fund vehicle manufacturing or technologies from entities tied to those nations.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.