the alliance between ford motor co f and contemporary amperex technology co limited catl has drawn the attention of two us house of representatives committees the focal point of the investigation is ford’s plan to construct a 35billion battery facility in michigan utilizing catl’s technology a global leader in battery production what happened reuters reports that the committees chaired by rep jason smith rmo and rep mike gallagher rwi have expressed apprehension about the potential sway of the chinese communist party over the us automaker and its implications for us taxpayers ford has responded to the investigation by asserting its intention to maintain ownership and operation of the plant on us soil a strategy that contrasts with its competitors that import lithium iron phosphate batteries from china the house ways and means committee and the select committee on china are questioning the several hundred positions at the ford plant that would be occupied by catl’s chinese workforce who would oversee equipment installation and maintenance the probe also highlights that catl seems to retain control over entities in xinjiang that are linked to forced labor allegations while giving the impression of divesting its ownership also read biden’s nsa nominee calls china ‘most capable competitor’ in cyberspace warns of ai threats last year the us congress enacted the 430billion inflation reduction act which could potentially disqualify ev tax credits for any ev battery components produced or assembled by a “foreign entity of concern” ford is currently seeking guidance from the us treasury to ensure its collaboration with catl does not infringe upon this stipulation gop sen marco rubio rfl has also advocated for an examination of the deal and has proposed a bill to deny consumer tax credits for evs manufactured using catl’s technology the committees’ correspondence expressed apprehension that the agreement could enable the partial onshoring of prccontrolled battery technology raw materials and workforce while amassing tax credits and rerouting funds back to catl through the licensing contract now read biden administration secures ai safety pledges from 7 tech giants in effort to regulate the technology this content was partially produced with the help of ai tools and was reviewed and published by benzinga editors