WASHINGTON, Feb 4 (Reuters) – Lawmakers, Waymo and Tesla will urge Congress to take action on long-stalled legislation to speed deployment of self-driving vehicles, warning of competitive threats from China.
The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee is holding a hearing Wednesday on efforts to boost the deployment of robotaxis with testimony from Waymo, Tesla and others as legislation has been under consideration for a decade.
“If the U.S. does not lead in AV development, other nations—particularly China—will shape the technology, standards, and global market. And perhaps more importantly, China will be the dominant manufacturer of transportation for the 21st century,” Democratic Senator Gary Peters told Reuters ahead of the hearing.
Waymo, an Alphabet-unit, will also urge Congress to pass legislation to advance self-driving vehicles, arguing U.S. leadership “in the autonomous vehicle sector is now under direct threat. The United States is locked in a global race with Chinese AV companies for the future of autonomous driving, a trillion-dollar industry comparable in strategic importance to flight and space travel,” according to testimony seen by Reuters.
(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )
