GOP Lawmakers Want Ford EV Partner CATL On Restricted List

The future Ford BlueOval Battery Park Michigan plant is currently under construction in the town of Marshall, where it will begin producing lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for all-electric vehicles in 2026 using technology licensed from Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL). Amid much controversy surrounding China, in general, as of late, it’s no surprise that this detail has stirred up plenty of attention from lawmakers, and that continues to be the case.

According to Reuters, two GOP lawmakers – Senator Marco Rubio and Representative John Moolenaar – have asked the U.S. Defense Department to add CATL to its list of restricted companies amid allegations that it may be working with China’s military. If this request is granted, CATL wouldn’t be able to obtain U.S. military contracts. Rubio noted that “it would also send a powerful signal to U.S. companies that are currently weighing partnerships with CATL.”

To date, CATL has refuted all of these claims, stating that its batteries “pose no more of a threat to national security than a brick,” adding that the GOP letter “makes accusations that are factually inaccurate and completely groundless,” noting that the company “is not controlled by the Chinese government.” Rubio previously asked for the U.S. to review the deal between Ford and CATL this past February as well, and has also called for it to be banned from American soil altogether.

In the meantime, it doesn’t seem as if higher, pending tariffs imposed by the Biden Administration on imported Chinese vehicles and raw materials will impact CATL in any measurable manner, as Ford Authority recently reported, though that rule has yet to be finalized after it was delayed amid concerns regarding its potential financial impact on American companies.

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