In this modern age of globalization, it’s common practice for companies to outsource resources overseas to help save on costs. That being said, a group of lawmakers are headed to Detroit to press GM and Ford to drastically reduce ties to China.
According to a report from Reuters, a bipartisan group of lawmakers – which consists of Republicans Mike Gallagher and John Moolenaar, and Democrats Raja Krishnamoorthi and Haley Stevens – will pressure General Motors to drop its reliance on Chinese supply chains, particularly those related to electric vehicle batteries. They argue that over-dependence on Chinese supply lines serves to undercut U.S.-based firms.
It’s worth noting that these four lawmakers are part of the newly formed House of Representatives China Select Committee, and are scheduled to meet with GM and Ford tomorrow, June 20th, 2023.
This recent development follows a rare visit of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Beijing. Blinken met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other top officials, where both parties agreed that rivalries need to stabilize to avoid escalation and future conflict.
Of course, this isn’t the only GM-China news as of recent. Microvast – a Texas-based battery manufacturer – was recently denied a $200 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing initiative due to concerns surrounding the company’s ties to China, and the associative threat to U.S. national security.
Following this denial, the future of the GM-Microvast partnership is clouded. The original plan was for the two companies to collaborate on innovative battery separator technologies for use in future GM electric vehicles. More specifically, the two companies were planning to develop technologies that were expected to improve charging and battery life, as well as provide safety enhancements.
As of the time of this writing, it’s unclear what will happen to the GM-Microvast partnership.
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