Ford–China Battery Plant Agreement Would Have Been a ‘Trojan Horse’: Gov. Youngkin

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaks. Steve Helber/AP

Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin called a Ford Motor plant proposal that he recently rejected a “Trojan horse” because the agreement would have potentially allowed the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to have full access to the technology via Ford’s Chinese partner, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL).

Last month, Youngkin blocked Virginia from being considered for the site of Ford Motor Company’s battery manufacturing plant over national security concerns. The automaker has an ongoing agreement with CATL to supply batteries to Ford’s electric vehicles.

This agreement qualifies CATL to receive lucrative production tax benefits under the new Inflation Reduction Act, according to a Bloomberg report. The report also said that the ownership structure of the deal would be Ford owning 100 percent of the plant and CATL owning the technology and operations of the facility.

“I'd much rather have a good clean deal than one that’s embroiled in controversy, and one that is going to promote the Chinese Communist Party,” Youngkin said during a Jan. 20 interview with Bloomberg. “It won’t be one that uses kind of a Trojan horse relationship with the Chinese Communist Party in order to gain.”

The Epoch Times reached out to Ford Motor Company for comment.

Like most Chinese companies, CATL has to answer to the CCP. Under Chinese laws, firms are required to provide CCP security agencies with information when asked.

“[The rejection] was wholly due to concerns of the relationship with CATL, which is a company that is highly influenced by the Chinese Communist Party, and in fact, when Speaker Pelosi went to Taiwan, CATL suspended progress on investments in the United States,” said Youngkin.

Allowing the Ford–CATL agreement would have also gone against the federal government’s Inflation Reduction Act, said Youngkin, which prioritizes promoting a U.S. supply chain for electric vehicles.

The governor said he would have loved to have Ford Motor Company establish its electric-vehicle battery plant in Virginia if it worked with a battery supplier that did not have ties to the CCP.

A model of the all-new Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup is parked in front of the Ford Motor Company World Headquarters in Dearborn, Mich., on April 26, 2022. Rebecca Cook/Reuters

He said his focus was on Virginia’s and the United States’ best interests.

“We have other companies that are interested in it [the site in Virginia]. This was a very straightforward decision that is best for that region of Virginia, to create jobs that provide opportunities to all Virginians,” said Youngkin.

CATL is the world’s biggest maker of batteries for electric vehicles, providing batteries for automakers such as General Motors, Ford, and Tesla. The New York Times reported in 2021 that Beijing gave CATL much support in subsidies and soft regulatory treatment, such as modifications in safety test requirements.

Terri Wu contributed to this report.