President Joe Biden’s May 2021 visit to the Ford Motor Co. Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn featured electric vehicle charging stations, classic trucks, and the factory-produced electric F-150 Lightning. (Andrew Roth| Michigan Advance)
Michigan Republicans have renewed their attack on a proposed electric vehicle battery plant in Calhoun County, after the Chinese company behind the $2 billion project was effectively blacklisted by the federal government.
On Tuesday, the United States Department of Defense (DoD) released its annual list of “Chinese military companies” that operate directly or indirectly in the US.
On the list was Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL), whose technology Ford Motor Co. intends to license in order to manufacture low-cost lithium-iron phosphate batteries at a plant near Marshall, which is currently under construction and is expected to begin production in 2026.
The Pentagon described the list as a “important continuing effort in highlighting and countering the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) Military-Civil Fusion strategy,” which it claimed “supports the modernization goals of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) by ensuring it can acquire advanced technologies and expertise developed by PRC companies, universities, and research programs that appear to be civilian entities.”
At the heart of the concern about Chinese companies operating in the United States is the Chinese government’s requirement that they provide access to all proprietary and customer data, which officials say could jeopardize national security.
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The ongoing dispute over TikTok, the Chinese-owned social media platform, revolves around the same issue. In April 2024, President Biden signed a bipartisan bill requiring TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app or face a ban. The United States Supreme Court heard arguments on Friday morning about whether to overturn or delay the law.
CATL, the world’s largest battery manufacturer for electric vehicles, also supplies Tesla, the EV manufacturer owned by billionaire Elon Musk, a close ally of President-elect Donald Trump who is leading his so-called government efficiency initiative.
Companies on the 1260H list, required by Congress since 2021, are barred from bidding on Defense Department contracts. However, their inclusion brings those firms to the forefront as potential threats to US national security.
It’s another red flag for the Marshall project, officially known as BlueOval Battery Park Michigan, which received $1.7 billion in state funding through the Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve (SOAR) fund. Republican legislators, including state Rep.
Sarah Lightner (R-Springport), have continued to criticize the funding, calling on Michigan to seek the return or clawback of taxpayer subsidies awarded to Ford for the project.
“These latest developments underscore what I’ve been saying all along — projects like this require much stricter oversight,” Lightner told reporters. “We need safeguards in place to protect taxpayers from financial risks and national security threats. If a project fails or is linked to a questionable company, we need the ability to recoup those funds and put them to better use.”
When contacted by the Michigan Advance, a spokesperson for Ford Motor Company declined to comment.
CATL, on the other hand, issued a statement calling its inclusion on the list a “mistake,” claiming it “never engaged in any military-related business or activities,” and stating that it intended to “proactively engage with DoD to address the false designation, including legal action if necessary, to protect the interests of our company and shareholders as a whole.”
When asked about the listing during the Michigan Senate’s first day of session on Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt (R-Porter Twp.) said it was just one of many reasons Republicans have opposed the project.
“The end of the day, I’m somebody that continues to oppose writing checks to some of the most profitable corporations in the world,” Nesbitt responded.
“If you have to bribe companies to come here, it means you aren’t competitive in other areas. I continue to oppose Whitmer’s giveaways and corporate welfare.
Nesbitt was referring to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Democratic leaders in the state House and Senate who provided financial support for EV-related projects during their two-year control of both chambers of the Legislature and the executive branch.
However, Republican opposition to the SOAR fund emerged only after Democrats took control of Lansing.
The fund was established in 2021 through legislation sponsored by Republicans and passed by the then-GOP-controlled House and Senate, in response to Ford’s announcement that it would invest $11.4 billion in battery and electric vehicle assembly plants in Tennessee and Kentucky.
Ford halted construction on the Marshall plant in September 2023, but after resuming work on a smaller project several months later, Lightner proposed a $725.3 million negative supplemental appropriations plan to return previously allocated SOAR funds and related infrastructure funding for the Marshall project to the state’s general fund.
She also advocated for legislation mandating annual SOAR fund audits and proposed automatic claw-back provisions that would require unspent funds to be returned to the general fund if a project was canceled or paused indefinitely.
“This new federal action against CATL validates the concerns many of us have been raising for months,” Lightner told reporters. “Michigan cannot afford to gamble taxpayer dollars on a project linked to a company with ties to the Chinese military. It’s time to reclaim these funds and ensure our economic and national security.”
