Ford ‘reviewing’ letter from US lawmakers worried about Chinese battery maker partner's ties to 'forced labor'
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Ford Motor Company tells FOX Business that it will «respond in good faith» to a letter from U.S. lawmakers raising concerns over the automaker's recently announced partnership with a Chinese battery maker they say has a «troubling connection» to the «Chinese Communist Party and forced labor in Xinjiang.»
The letter, authored by the chairs of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and the Committee on Ways and Means, was sent to Ford CEO Jim Farley months after his company revealed that it is investing $3.5 billion to build a factory in Michigan that will produce low-cost batteries for some of its electric vehicles.
The BlueOval Battery Park Michigan project in Marshall will be fully owned by a Ford subsidiary, but it will use technology licensed from Chinese battery company Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL), which the lawmakers are taking issue with.
«Ford has argued that the deal will create thousands of American jobs, further Ford’s ‘commitments to sustainability and human rights,’ and lead to American battery technology advancements,» wrote Reps. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin and Jason Smith of Missouri, both Republicans. «But newly discovered information raises serious questions about each claim.»
FORD TO BUILD $3.5 BILLION BATTERY FACTORY IN MICHIGAN THAT VIRGINIA GOVERNOR REJECTED
A sign outside of Ford's Chicago Assembly Plant on May 20, 2020, in Chicago, Illinois. House lawmakers are raising concerns this week over Ford's new partnership with China-based Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited. ((Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) / Getty Images)
«Specifically, information regarding the proposed partnership agreement
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