Lawmakers To Urge Ford And GM CEOs To Reduce Reliance On China Auto Parts

(RTTNews) - A bipartisan group of lawmakers from the U.S. House of Representatives China Select Committee is set to meet with the CEOs of Ford Motor and General Motors, urging them to decrease their dependency on Chinese auto parts, with a particular focus on electric vehicles or EV batteries. Sources revealed this information to Reuters on Monday.

The four lawmakers, including Republicans Mike Gallagher and John Moolenaar, and Democrats Raja Krishnamoorthi and Haley Stevens, will travel to Detroit on Tuesday for the meeting with Ford's Jim Farley and GM's Mary Barra. Executives from prominent automotive suppliers such as BorgWarner, Continental, Bosch, Tenneco, and battery startup Our Next Energy (ONE) will also participate in the discussions.

The timing of the focus on Chinese auto parts coincides with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's recent visit to Beijing, where hours of meetings failed to yield significant breakthroughs. On Monday, Ford expressed its alignment with the committee's objectives of improving American competitiveness and establishing electric vehicle (EV) supply chains in the United States. During the scheduled meeting, the company plans to address its initiatives and progress towards achieving these goals.

GM declined to comment on the upcoming meeting, while Gallagher, who chairs the China committee, expressed concerns in April about Tesla's reliance on China when the company announced plans for a Megapack battery factory in Shanghai.

President Joe Biden signed the $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to reduce U.S. EV production's reliance on Chinese supply chains in August. This legislation imposes new conditions on EV tax credits, limiting eligibility to vehicles assembled in North America and establishing battery sourcing rules.

Ford's announcement in February about utilizing technology from Chinese battery company CATL for its plan to invest $3.5 billion in a battery plant in Michigan has faced criticism from some lawmakers. Republican Senator Marco Rubio has urged the Biden administration to withhold electric vehicle (EV) tax credits for batteries that are manufactured with Chinese technology.

Ford has previously emphasized the importance of domestic battery production, stating that manufacturing batteries within the country are preferable to relying solely on imports, as other auto companies do.

The planned meetings were initially reported by Bloomberg News.