China Hawks Continue Battery Bashing

1 in 3 EVs Worldwide has a CATL battery

CATL

Posted Wednesday, August 28, 2024 2:35 pm

Congressional China hawks have called for U.S. Department of Defense to immediately place Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL) on the Section 1260H List of entities "operating directly or indirectly in the United States or any of its territories and possessions, that is a Chinese military company”

Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin urging the move, stating "By including CATL on the Section 1260H List, the DoD would not only safeguard America’s military infrastructure from exposure to the PLA, it would also send a powerful signal to U.S. companies who are currently weighing partnerships with CATL.”

CATL, is the largest global maker of batteries for electric and hybrid cars, powering one in three EVs on the road , The firm is a supplier to General Motors, Volkswagen, BMW, Tesla, Daimler, and many Chinese EV manufacturers.

Last September Moolenaar and his predecessor Mike Gallagher appealed to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to withhold any federal support for Chinese battery companies in the United States [see 10093]. In June of this year, Moolenaar and colleagues called for the Department of Homeland Security to ban Chinese battery firms for participating in "Chinese Communist Party state-sponsored slave labor and the ongoing Uyghur genocide." [12704]

Moolenaar has long been a vocal critic of another Chinese battery firm, Gotion's plans to build a $2.4 billion battery plant in his district, a project Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has called “the biggest ever economic development project in northern Michigan” Moolenaar's political supporters have horse farms near the planned factory.

A proposed Ford Motor partnership, licensing CATL technology, with sourcing and manufacturing by Ford was paused last Fall amid Congressional objections. Construction has since resumed, and CATL is reportedly negotiating similar deals with Tesla and General Motors.

View the letter to Defense Secretary Austin HERE

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Vol 44 No. 36 September 2, 2024

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