China battery giant CATL would build US plant if Trump allows it, chairman says
Trump wants to block Chinese EV, battery imports but open to US plants with American workers
Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), the world’s top battery maker, will consider building a US plant if president-elect Donald Trump opens the door to Chinese investment in the electric-vehicle supply chain, the company’s founder and chairman, Robin Zeng, told Reuters.
“Originally, when we wanted to invest in the US, the US government said no,” the Chinese billionaire said in an interview last week. “For me, I’m really open-minded.”
Chinese electric-car and battery makers have been shut out of the US market through a variety of protectionist trade measures supported by both Democrats and Republicans including Trump, who launched a broader trade war with China during his first presidential term starting in 2017. China’s EV and battery firms, which are heavily subsidised by its government, have been targeted with some of the steepest trade barriers out of competitive and national-security concerns.
Chinese-made batteries do not qualify for consumer EV subsidies enacted during the Biden administration, which also moved to block any vehicle with Chinese connected-car technology. Chinese EV imports are subject to a 100 per cent tariff, an effective ban.
A Republican bill opposed by the Biden White House would go further, limiting EV-purchase incentives for cars powered by Chinese battery technology licensed by American companies such as Ford and Tesla.
The trade barriers have blocked some of the world’s leading battery and EV companies, including CATL and its largest battery competitor, BYD, which might otherwise help accelerate the US EV transition. Unlike CATL, BYD also makes electric cars and now rivals Tesla for the global EV sales lead.
