Last week, “all-American” car company Ford dropped a press release signaling the opening of a new plant just outside of Detroit, Michigan. The headline: Ford Taps Michigan for New LFP Battery Plant; New Battery Chemistry Offers Customers Value, Durability, Fast Charging, Creates 2,500 More New American Jobs.
Sounds fairly innocuous. A little long-winded, but heck —sounds promising! Buried deep within the press release, however, is information on Ford’s partnership with Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL).
Wait, who?
According to The Free Beacon, “Ford…is investing $3.5 billion to build a Michigan factory that will produce EV batteries in partnership with Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited. The Chinese firm is not only providing technology but also sending equipment and workers to help build and run the factory, according to Ford.”
Another example of America going green and red China reaping the benefits. Adding insult to injury, we have the Inflation Reduction Act and about $400 billion in green energy subsidies to blame for this bungle, despite Biden saying the package would help America “compete with China for the future.”
The law has a provision to prevent foreign enemies from benefiting from Uncle Sam’s tax breaks and handouts —but Ford and China have a workaround.
“Ford expressed confidence…that its EV battery plant, 100 miles west of Detroit, will qualify for some of the Inflation Reduction Act’s lucrative federal tax breaks. The company emphasized that it owns 100 percent of the factory because the deal with the Chinese firm is structured as a licensing agreement rather than as a joint venture, meaning Ford’s Chinese partner does not have direct ownership,” The Free Beacon reports.
The GOP is calling bull on the whole endeavor.
Chairwoman of the House Energy Committee Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) told the Free Beacon that Ford’s agreement with a Chinese company “raises a lot of questions.”
“Creating American jobs and strengthening our energy security is vital, and the U.S. should be able to do this while minimizing China’s involvement,” Rogers said.
Not surprisingly, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who is notoriously tough on China, wants the Biden Administration to review the deal, saying it “will only deepen U.S. reliance on the Chinese Communist Party for battery tech, and is likely designed to make the factory eligible for Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credits.”
This is absolutely something the Biden Administration should look into —but will it?