As previously reported by The Drill Down, “all-American” car company Ford dropped a press release last month 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.
At first, seemingly a celebration of American job creation. Upon closer inspection, a dangerous deal with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
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.”
Now, a bipartisan effort on Capitol Hill is mounting —the partnership must be stopped.
While speaking at the CERAWeek energy conference last week, Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) unloaded on the deal between Ford and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., saying “”I’ll be damned if I’m going to give them $900 out of $7,500, to let it go to China for basically a product we started.”
“You’re telling me we don’t have the smart people and the technology, and we can’t get up to speed quick enough? That doesn’t make sense.”
He’s right —enriching one of our most dangerous enemies on the international stage doesn’t make sense —and across the aisle, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) agrees.
According to Fox News, “Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) recently introduced the Restricting Electric Vehicle Outlays from Kleptomaniac Enemies (Revoke) Act of 2023, a bipartisan bill that seeks to block companies from receiving electric vehicle tax credits from corporations with foreign entities of concern.”
“Rubio claims that if the deal proceeds, “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.”
Ford is, of course, defending the CCP team-up, saying “making those batteries here at home is much better than continuing to rely exclusively on foreign-imports, as other auto companies do. A wholly owned Ford subsidiary alone will build, own and operate this plant. No other entity will get U.S. tax dollars for this project.”
Rubio’s take? “Hard-working Americans should not be forced to subsidize Chinese companies that make batteries for electric vehicles that cost more than most people make in a year.”
We tend to agree.