Gallagher, Smith, Rodgers Seek Compliance After Ford Refuses to Cooperate with Investigations into CCP-Aligned EV Battery Partnership

WASHINGTON, DC – While Ford Motor Company announced on September 25 that it has paused its partnership with a Chinese battery maker, lawmakers continue to have serious concerns that Ford has refused to comply with three separate congressional inquiries into its secret licensing agreement with CATL, a Chinese Communist Party-aligned EV battery firm.

As first reported by Reuters, Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) of the House Energy and Commerce Committee jointly wrote to Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Farley seeking Ford's immediate compliance with congressional investigations into its partnership with CATL.

The lawmakers warned the Ford CEO that a persistent refusal to comply could result in the initiation of a compulsory process or notification to appear before Congress.

In the letter, the lawmakers jointly write, "Ford’s ongoing refusal to provide substantive responses addressing the serious issues discussed in the April, July, and September letters undermines Ford’s own commitment to 'act with transparency, integrity, and honesty' and raises serious concerns regarding its licensing agreement with CATL.

"We write again today to seek a fully responsive production on the licensing agreement, Ford’s knowledge of CATL’s apparent attempt to shield its connection to Xinjiang-based companies, and Ford’s commitment to advance U.S. battery production.

"If Ford does not comply fully with all of the Committees’ July 20, 2023, document requests and the September 1, 2023, Energy and Commerce document request by no later than October 6, 2023, we will consider other means to obtain the documents, including compulsory process or insisting that you appear before Congress to publicly explain your failure to comply."

In April, July, and September subsequently, the lawmakers each sought information from Ford regarding its licensing agreement with CCP-aligned battery maker CATL, including but not limited to:

• A copy of Ford's licensing agreement with CATL in both English and Chinese.

• Ford's knowledge of CATL's connections to CCP forced labor and human rights abuses.

• Ford's knowledge of CATL's attempts to shield its connections to Xinjiang-based companies that are banned from exporting product to the U.S.

• Ford's intention to import Chinese employees to take well-paying U.S. jobs.

• Ford's discussions with the Biden administration regarding its CATL partnership and EV tax credits.

Gallagher, Smith, and Rodgers requested that Ford provide adequate responses to this most recent inquiry no later than October 6.

The lawmakers concluded by jointly issuing Ford a document preservation notice regarding its deal with the Chinese owned and CCP-aligned company, CATL.

Click HERE to view a copy of the letter or read below.

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READ: Chairman Smith Warns Treasury Must Act Immediately to Stop Tax Dollars from Flowing to China, Demands Automakers Provide Details on Foreign Partnerships

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Dear Mr. Farley,

On September 25, 2023, Ford Motor Company (Ford) announced that it is pausing the development of a $3.5 billion battery plant in Marshall, Michigan that would be home to Ford’s licensing agreement with Contemporary Amperex Technology, Co. Limited (CATL). While we are encouraged to see Ford take a small first step in reevaluating its deal with CATL, we are concerned that Ford has not been fully transparent with our requests for documents and information. 

In July 20, 2023, the House Committee on Ways and Means and the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and Chinese Communist Party (“the Committees”) wrote you seeking information about Ford’s licensing agreement with CATL, Ford’s knowledge of CATL’s connections to human rights abuses, and Ford’s commitment to advance domestic U.S. battery production. In the letter, we raised concerns that hundreds of well-paying jobs in the U.S. will be given to citizens of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), that CATL took steps to conceal its ownership stake in companies based in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region (Xinjiang) with alleged connections to forced labor, and that the deal would not in fact contribute to advancements in domestic battery technology in the U.S. Ford’s response did not alleviate any of these concerns.

On April 17, 2023, the Committee on Ways and Means initially wrote Ford regarding many of the same issues. Ford chose not to respond with any meaningful detail or substance.

Our joint July 20, 2023 letter followed up on the April letter. We requested that Ford produce the following documents and communications by no later than August 10, 2023:

• A copy of the licensing agreement between Ford and CATL—including all appendices—in both English and Chinese;

• All documents and communications exchanged between Ford and CATL referring or relating to the licensing agreement in the original language, i.e., not in translation; and

• All documents and communications between Ford and the Biden Administration referring or relating to the Ford/CATL licensing agreement and/or achievable tax credits.

Despite being granted a seven-day extension to respond, Ford failed to produce any of the requested documents and communications. Rather, it sent a narrative letter that did not meaningfully answer the Committees’ questions.

Similarly, the House Energy and Commerce Committee also wrote to Ford on September 1, 2023, seeking more information about Ford’s partnership with CATL. Ford also replied with a narrative response after being granted a seven-day extension and did not provide any of the requested documents.

Ford’s ongoing refusal to provide substantive responses addressing the serious issues discussed in the April, July, and September letters undermines Ford’s own commitment to “act with transparency, integrity, and honesty” and raises serious concerns regarding its licensing agreement with CATL. We write again today to seek a fully responsive production on the licensing agreement, Ford’s knowledge of CATL’s apparent attempt to shield its connection to Xinjiang-based companies, and Ford’s commitment to advance U.S. battery production.

If Ford does not comply fully with all of the Committees’ July 20, 2023, document requests and the September 1, 2023, Energy and Commerce document request by no later than October 6, 2023, we will consider other means to obtain the documents, including compulsory process or insisting that you appear before Congress to publicly explain your failure to comply.

In addition, we request that you preserve all documents and communications in Ford’s custody referring or relating to its relationship, partnership, and licensing agreement with CATL.

So that a full and complete record of those documents can be produced to the Committees and the House Energy and Commerce Committee in response to future document requests, please:

• Preserve all e-mail, electronic documents, and data (“electronic records”) related to Ford’s agreement with CATL. For the purposes of this request, “preserve” means taking reasonable steps to prevent the partial or full destruction, alteration, testing, deletion, shredding, incineration, wiping, relocation, migration, theft, or mutation of electronic records, as well as negligent or intentional handling in a manner that would make such records incomplete or inaccessible;
• Exercise reasonable efforts to identify and notify employees and contractors, including subcontractors and consultants who may have access to such electronic records in an effort to ensure these records are to be preserved; and
• If it is the routine practice of any employee or contractor to destroy or otherwise alter such documents or electronic records, either halt such practices or arrange for the preservation of complete and accurate duplicates or copies of such records, suitable for production if requested.