WASHINGTON (Michigan News Source) – Gotion and similar Electric Vehicle (EV) companies may have a harder time proceeding in Michigan after a recent addition to the National Defence Authorization Act. 

Following a Congressional inquiry, a CCP-tied battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) with a battery farm located in a secure Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina, the farm was disconnected over national security concerns. 

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After these actions, U.S. lawmakers added a rule to the National Defense Authorization Act, which would prohibit the Defense Department from acquiring batteries manufactured by People’s Republic of China (PRC) based and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) tied CATL, Gotion, and several others, barring these groups from being stationed on U.S. military bases. 

What are the state-level ramifications?

The Michigan – China Economic and Security Review Group, led by former Ambassadors Pete Hoekstra and Joseph Cella, are asking what this could mean at the state level. 

“If our federal lawmakers see fit to protect the Pentagon’s supply chain, our national security by banning batteries manufactured by CATL, Gotion, and others deeply tied to the Chinese Communist Party, how can they still qualify to receive billions in taxpayer dollars from the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)?” the pair said in a statement. 

They also questioned why Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Illonois Governor Jay Robert (J.B.) Pritzker provided billions of taxpayer dollars and other subsidies to PRC based and CCP tied manufacturers, declaring it “perilous to subsidize a national security threat.” 

“This ban is a step in the right direction, and we applaud it,” they said in a statement. “Given the aggressive adversarial nature of the PRC and the CCP, we urge lawmakers give this procurement ban immediate effect, extend it to the entire federal government, and investigate why CATL and Gotion can receive tax credits through the IRA, and push the Michigan and Illinois “deals” to be subjected to the strictest of scrutiny by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).”

Michigan announces other EV achievements on Tuesday.

Gov. Whitmer announced later on Tuesday that Michigan would be partnering with several other non-Chinese companies, Australian global green energy Fortescue and German-based provider EcoG—EV companies with the potential to bring nearly 1,000 jobs to the state. 

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“Today’s investments will create nearly 1,000 good-paying jobs and build on our strengths in mobility and vehicle electrification, clean technology, and logistics, while growing and diversifying our economy,” said Governor Whitmer. “We will continue competing against other states and nations to bring projects home to Michigan, creating good-paying, high-skills jobs for our residents. Together, we will keep getting things done to build on our economic momentum and deliver on the priorities that make a real difference in people’s lives so anyone can ‘make it’ in Michigan.” 

At the previous ‘What’s Next’ Address, Governor Whitmer celebrated the multiple EV deals in Michigan including Gotion, Ford BlueOval’s partnership with CATL, and semiconductor wafer making company SK Siltron. 

“These new battery plants will be game changers: supporting thousands of families, uplifting local businesses, and ensuring our cities and towns thrive for decades to come,” Gov. Whitmer said. “They’ll help Michigan go toe to toe with China, bringing critical parts of the auto supply chain home. We must reduce our reliance on Chinese products, which have caused work stoppages, shortages, and car price hikes over the last few years.”  

Ford BlueOval currently avoids further complications.

Despite a multi-month suspension of the Ford BlueOval Battery Park plant in Marshall, MI, the company resumed operations in November after determining the company could “competitively run the plant.”  

While previously projecting a 35 gigawatt-hour (GWh) and several hundred more person team to man the plant, the reevaluated project reduced capacity and job projections. 

“We are pleased to confirm we are moving ahead with the Marshall project, consistent with the Ford+ plan for growth and value creation,” Ford announced. “However, we are right-sizing as we balance investment, growth, and profitability. The facility will now create more than 1,700 good-paying American jobs to produce a planned capacity of approximately 20 GWh.” 

Under the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, passed on Dec. 22, 2023, Ford’s use of CATL technology will remain unaffected. 

“However, commercial purchases, such as Ford’s procurement of batteries from CATL in Michigan and Tesla’s sourcing of batteries from BYD, are temporarily exempt from these measures,” according to TrendForce.