The race to force all Americans into electric vehicles (EVs) keeps hitting multiple speed bumps.
But the dangerous race to EVs could be threatening national security.
And now GOP House members are questioning this one major U.S. automaker’s EV deal with a Communist Chinese company.
A group of 26 Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are investigating U.S. automaker Ford Motor Company over its partnership with the Communist Chinese battery firm Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL).
A possible national security risk
The GOP lawmakers are led by Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Energy and Commerce Oversight Subcommittee Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA).
They recently sent a letter to Ford CEO Jim Farley warning that its recent deal with CATL may pose a serious national security risk.
“While Ford has labeled this project a ‘commitment to American manufacturing’ and asserts it will create 2,500 new American jobs, we are concerned that Ford’s partnership with a Chinese company could aid China’s efforts to expand its control over United States electric vehicle supply chains and jeopardize national security by furthering dependence on China,” the letter read.
“We seek to learn more about whether this partnership, and others like it, will potentially exacerbate our reliance on China. Should China gain control of domestic electric vehicle production, the United States would be exposed to serious national security risks at a time of escalating geopolitical tensions,” the letter continued.
Back in February, Ford announced it would be investing $3.5 billion to build a lithium iron phosphate battery plant.
The plant, located in Marshall, Michigan, would supply its growing electric vehicle manufacturing line and supposedly create 2,500 new jobs.
But as part of the announcement, Ford said it had reached an agreement with CATL to manufacture the battery cells at the plant using services provided by the Communist Chinese company.
A dangerous plan backed by radical Democrats
The plant, which is backed by Michigan’s state government and by radical Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer, has also been considered for Virginia.
But Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin came out against it due to its ties to Communist China.
Youngkin argued that “CATL and the Chinese Communist Party would have full operational control over the technology.”
“At each business proposal, Governor Youngkin always seeks to find the best outcome for Virginians and the Commonwealth,” Youngkin spokesperson Macaulay Porter told Fox News Digital. “Virginians can be confident that companies with known ties to the Chinese Communist Party won’t receive a leg up from the Commonwealth’s economic incentive packages.”
According to the New York Times, although CATL is not officially state-owned by the Communist Chinese Party (CCP), Chinese investors with close ties to the CCP have held financial stakes in CATL.
The Chinese government has also taken steps over the last decade to bolster CATL and other similar EV companies based in Communist China.
And the founder and top executive of CATL, Zeng Yuqun, was identified last year as a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee.
According to a 2018 U.S. government report, the CPPCC is a “critical coordinating body” that brings together representatives of Communist Chinese interest groups.
The CPPCC is led by the CCP’s Politburo Standing Committee.
It seems like Glenn Youngkin got this one right.
But will Ford follow suit?
Before It’s Banned will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.
