The Select Committee on China has urged Ford Motor Company to reconsider its licensing partnership with Contemporary Amperex Technology Company Limited (CATL), a firm linked to the Chinese military. The committee cited concerns regarding supply-chain security and credit eligibility in an announcement made on X.
According to the statement posted by the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Ford's plan to sign a licensing agreement with CATL risks embedding a supplier directed by the People's Republic of China (PRC) into a sensitive U.S. manufacturing chain. The committee argued that CATL's documented connections to China's military-civil fusion system could expose American automakers to national-security vulnerabilities and threaten future access to federal tax incentives tied to supply-chain security. This public warning is part of the committee's ongoing campaign urging U.S. companies to avoid arrangements that may strengthen entities aligned with the Chinese military.
The Department of Energy (DOE) has proposed guidance under the Inflation Reduction Act, which restricts eligibility for certain tax credits when battery components are sourced from "Foreign Entities of Concern" (FEOCs), including Chinese companies with military ties. DOE documents indicate that firms deemed FEOCs may disqualify downstream manufacturers from receiving these incentives, highlighting the financial and industrial-policy stakes involved in Ford’s licensing arrangement.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, China controls approximately 70% of global rare-earth processing capacity, granting Beijing significant leverage over upstream materials essential for advanced manufacturing. Previous Chinese export restrictions have caused market disruptions for U.S. companies, illustrating how dominant PRC-controlled nodes can create bottlenecks across strategic sectors. Lawmakers argue that similar dependencies in electric vehicle (EV) battery supply chains could reproduce those pressures, increasing U.S. exposure to CCP-aligned firms.
The Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, known as the Select Committee on the CCP, is a bipartisan House committee established in 2023 and headquartered in Washington, D.C. Its mandate is to investigate economic, technological, and national-security challenges posed by the CCP and recommend legislative and policy measures that strengthen U.S. resilience. The committee examines supply-chain risks, intelligence gaps, and CCP-linked industrial entities to ensure that American strategic industries remain insulated from undue PRC influence.
