2 Republicans ask Pentagon to add Chinese battery maker CATL to restricted list
Lawmakers said CATL has ties to Chinese Communist Party and its military, and ‘reliance on CATL batteries endangers national security’
Two top Republican lawmakers on Wednesday asked the US Defence Department to add Chinese battery maker CATL to a restricted list of companies allegedly working with Beijing’s military.
Companies added to the list cannot receive US military contracts and being added to the list carries significant reputational risks, experts say.
Senator Marco Rubio, the vice-chairman of the Intelligence Committee, and congressman John Moolenaar, who chairs the House Select Committee on China, asked Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin to immediately place CATL – formally known as China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co – on the list saying “it would also send a powerful signal to US companies that are currently weighing partnerships with CATL”.
CATL said its battery products have helped millions of Americans during power cuts and are passive products “that pose no more of a threat to national security than a brick”. The company said the lawmakers’ letter “makes accusations that are factually inaccurate and completely groundless”, adding CATL “is not controlled by the Chinese government”.
