It takes a thief to catch a thief: US cites ‘tech terror’ threat in China car ban

Two weeks ago, the US Department of Commerce put forward a bill proposing to ban car parts and software linked to China or Russia. The White House held a press briefing and published a fact sheet justifying this, with implications that this was a measure to prevent terrorist attacks. The irony of such measures coming so soon after the US-sanctioned Israeli terror attack that was carried out using technological sabotage appears to have been lost on them.

The fact sheet reads:

“Today, President Biden is announcing strong action to protect America from the national security risks associated with connected vehicle technologies from countries of concern.[...]

“The Department of Commerce’s proposed rule would prohibit the import or sale of certain connected vehicle systems designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied by entities with a sufficient nexus to the PRC or Russia. Specifically, the rule covers “vehicle connectivity systems” [...] and “automated driving systems” (ADS), which allow highly autonomous vehicles to operate without a driver behind the wheel.”

House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said at the press briefing:

“With potentially millions of vehicles on the road, each with 10- to 15-year lifespans the risk of disruption and sabotage increases dramatically”.

This ludicrous fantasy – of Chinese-made cars ploughing autonomously into bridges and buildings – is the stuff of action movies, not reality. Bollards and other infrastructure have existed to prevent people from driving into these structures for decades. What this new bill is really about ‘protecting’ is the market share and profits of US auto manufacturers.

At any rate, the US government complaining about the threat of foreign-imported technology to carry out terrorist attacks has taken on a grim irony in recent days.

Just two weeks ago, of course, the Israeli intelligence service carried out a brutal terrorist attack in Lebanon, and far from condemnation, the White House instead justified the attack, saying that the indiscriminate murder of 12 people, including civilians, including two children, was a justified and even a ‘precise’ attack. The State Department’s spokesperson, Matthew Miller commented: 

“as a general principle, we do believe it's a legitimate practice for any country to defend itself by fighting terrorist organisations.”

Terrorism, it seems then, in the eyes of the White House, is only terrorism when other people do it! 

This isn’t the first time that ‘national security’ has been invoked to cut China out of the western market. Just a few years ago we saw the US ban on Huawei from its 5G infrastructure, with the UK following suit. Huawei executives were arrested in Canada, and the US placed pressure on Brazil to force them to ban Huawei too.

The terrorist attacks carried out by Israel against Lebanon show clearly that the US has every reason to fear hostile powers may use industrial sabotage / Image: Telegram

The terrorist attacks carried out by Israel against Lebanon show clearly that the US has every reason to fear hostile powers may use industrial sabotage to carry out attacks on their own soil. After all, if they are prepared to carry out and sanction such sabotage, why wouldn’t others? As the saying goes: “it takes a thief to catch a thief.” We shall not hold our breath until the day that the executives of the Taiwanese company that manufactured the pagers used in Israel’s terrorist attack on Lebanon are arrested.

Protectionism

The real ‘terror’ that China is causing for the US ruling class strikes a little closer to their pockets. It has less to do simply with industrial sabotage, and much to do with the terror of Chinese competition in the tech sector.

65 percent of global EV production is dominated by Chinese industry. 75 percent of EV battery production is dominated by China. Meanwhile, whilst the US ruling class are encouraging ‘near-shoring’ and ‘friend-shoring’ to places like Mexico, US auto giants like GM and Ford are still moving production to China, where costs are cheaper. 

In reality, this is an escalation of the protectionism begun under Donald Trump’s presidency, when import duties on Chinese vehicles were raised to 27.5 percent. So far, Chinese firms could work around this by themselves assembling cars in Mexico, which would then lead to an import duty of only 2.5 percent. For this reason, BYD, the world’s biggest manufacturer of EVs, is considering opening a plant there.

Recognising the threat from this kind of venture, the representatives of the American automotive industry are closing the back door. This bill essentially amounts to a ban on all cars and parts from China

The psychology of the ruling class

These imperialist powers are vying for power and control over markets and sectors, and these steps to defend their own territory, their own profits, and their own security interests and prestige, are the hallmarks of a world system in crisis. From the point of view of the capitalists, their mutual suspicions and their moves to chop up the world economy, severing supply chains in the process are completely rational and even necessary.

The shutting of borders and strangling of trade forma huge fetter on production. It feeds into higher costs and inflation, whilst undermining the very market that the capitalists depend upon. In short, it exacerbates the crisis of the whole system, for which the workers are ultimately the ones who are made to pay.

The impact of modern battery technology alone could change the power grid, allowing more green energy to be deployed, the creation of green, affordable and high quality mass transit systems. Instead of cooperating in this direction, gangs of capitalists view one another with suspicion and hostility. Instead of freeing mankind, high tech wonders are used to strike more effectively at one’s enemy.

Whilst Israel’s use of high-tech explosives embedded in electronics to disable their enemies causes natural revulsion, it also causes us to marvel at what ingenuity was involved. And to marvel also at the barbarous ends to which such ingenuity is deployed under this rotten system.