This week, U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) introduced legislation that would prohibit the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from procuring batteries from companies owned and operated by the People’s Republic of China.
The Decoupling from Foreign Adversarial Battery Dependence Act would also advance efforts to decouple the supply chain from China, one of the country’s “geopolitical adversaries,” Gimenez, the chair of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security said.
Officials said the legislation resembles provisions that were part of the National Defense Authorization Act signed last year that prevented the U.S. Department of Defense from procuring batteries from the same Chinese companies.
“We cannot continue ceding dominance over our critical supply chains to our greatest geopolitical rival,” Gimenez said. “I am proud to introduce this legislation to ensure the Chinese Communist Party can’t exploit economic or security vulnerabilities that could be created through DHS reliance on lithium-ion batteries, especially amid this administration’s ill-conceived push for electric vehicles.”
Gimenez’s office said approximately 80 percent of the world’s batteries and around 70 percent of the world’s lithium-ion batteries are produced in China. Gimenez’s legislation would prohibit DHS from buying batteries from six Chinese companies – Contemporary Amperex Technology Company, Ltd. (CATL); BYD Company, Ltd; Envision Energy, Ltd; EVE Energy Company, Ltd; Hithium Energy Storage Technology company, Ltd; and Gotion High-Tech Company, Ltd.
According to Gimenez’s office, Gotion High-Tech has spent more than $1 million on lobbying efforts this year and is being supported by ABB Ltd., a Swiss company that is part of the Homeland Security Committee’s investigation into a PRC-owned company dominating he seaport crane manufacturing industry. Additionally, the Congressman’s office said, CATL is the world’s largest lithium-ion battery manufacturer. Through CATL and other Chinese entities, China hopes to create a global dependent on the country.
Cosponsors include Committee Chairman Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN), Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence Chairman August Pfluger (R-TX), and Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI).
“The United States cannot give the Chinese Communist Party the opportunity to undermine our homeland security by relying on China for crucial components to our economy and security,” Green said. “I am proud to join Chairmen Gimenez, Pfluger, and Moolenaar on this bill to end any DHS reliance on batteries made by six dominant Chinese companies. We must defend against the CCP’s growing malign influence and protect the supply chains that are critical to securing our homeland.”