Pursuant to The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), senior Capitol Hill lawmakers are demanding that the Biden Administration ban batteries made from manufacturers Gotion and CATL from entering the United States.

The letters, sent to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), were authored by House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI), House Homeland Security & Government Affairs Committee (HSGAC) Chairman Mark Green (R-TN), and senior Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), among others.

According to the lawmakers, they have revealed “shocking new evidence implicating major Chinese battery manufacturers, Gotion and CATL, in Chinese Communist Party state-sponsored slave labor and the ongoing Uyghur genocide. Despite CATL and Gotion holding these ties to Chinese paramilitary organizations and state-sponsored slave labor programs, the companies have operated and expanded their presence in the United States.”

According to Moolenaar,“The Select Committee has uncovered indisputable evidence that Gotion High Tech and CATL have supply chains that are deeply connected to forced labor and the ongoing genocide of Uyghurs in China. That is why the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force must immediately add Gotion High Tech and CATL to the UFLPA Entity List and block the shipments of these companies from entering the United States. The American people expect companies in the U.S. to avoid all involvement with the Chinese Communist Party’s campaign of genocide.”

If, after investigation, the Chinese companies are found to have violated the UFLPA, the Biden Administration will be forced, pursuant to Federal law, to stop any non-compliant battery shipments. The lawmakers are requesting “an immediate briefing if for some reason DHS determines to not place CATL and Gotion on the blacklist.”

According to their letters to DHS:

CATL

• CATL sources a key component, lithium-ion anode materials, from a company controlled by the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC). XPCC is a Chinese paramilitary organization, sanctioned by the United States for its direct contribution to the Uyghur genocide.

• CATL sources electrolytic nickel from a subsidiary of Xinjiang Nonferrous, a CCP state-owned enterprise known for its prolific use of forced labor, including forced housing of Han men with Uyghur women and families.

• One of CATL’s key suppliers is partly owned by Yibin Tianyuan Group Co. Ltd. Yibin is partnered with the sanctioned company XPCC.

• The Committee previously disclosed CATL’s prior ownership stake in Xinjiang Zchiun Lithium Industry Co. Ltd. This company participated in Chinese forced labor transfer programs. CATL sold the stake but remains linked to the company through extended shareholding relationships and though the new owner who is a former CATL senior executive.

The full letter may be found here.

GOTION

• Gotion sources aluminum foil from a subsidiary of Xinjiang Nonferrous, a CCP state-owned enterprise known for its prolific use of forced labor, including forced housing of Han men with Uyghur women and families.

• Gotion sources material from Xinjiang Joinworld, a company that participated in ‘poverty alleviation through labor transfer.’ These programs are often a disguise for forced labor. A local CCP chapter even awarded a Xinjiang Joinworld employee an award for implementing the CCP’s ethnic policies.

• Gotion sources lithium-ion and other materials from companies with deep connections to XPCC, the sanctioned Chinese paramilitary organization that contributes to the Uyghur genocide.

The full letter may be found here.

Clients, friends and family only.