Senator Rand Paul submitted a proposal on Monday to remove the prohibition on EV battery management systems and unconnected frames from the Connected Vehicle Security Act. The demand includes deleting ownership thresholds and granting the Commerce Secretary authority to authorize companies based in covered countries, including BYD. Paul is refusing to accept these changes as an amendment, insisting instead that they be integrated into the base text of the legislation to resolve his previous block of the bill.

The act seeks to bar Chinese automotive technology from U.S. roads and has 55 cosponsors in the Senate and 81 in the House. It is scheduled for a Senate vote early next week. Paul had previously sought to protect licensing deals between CATL and Ford as well as Chinese investments in Mercedes. These legislative disputes follow comments from President Trump that he would welcome Chinese automakers building production plants within the U.S.