Michigan is set to welcome a new Chinese electric vehicle factory that promises thousands of jobs, but citizens and legislators are reportedly criticizing the new factory due to the growing tensions between the US and China, among other reasons.
The US company with Chinese ties setting up shop about 100 miles from a National Guard base angered the township's residents, who see the factory's construction as a reflection of the current state of U.S.-China relations.
Additionally, rumors exist that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will have an office in the plant, which Thelen refuted last year at a meeting at a local high school.
Gotion, the American arm of Gotion High Tech Co. Ltd., a Chinese battery manufacturer, was established on August 1. Green Charter Township granted it permission to establish a facility.
The town's lawmakers even attempted to stop the factory from being built, but they were unsuccessful when US District Judge Jane Beckering decided on Friday to grant a preliminary injunction, upholding Gotion Inc.'s development agreement with the Green Charter Township board.
June saw the U.S.'s acquisition of land by Gotion for an EV battery plant deemed unproblematic by the Treasury Department's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which examines foreign investments for potential threats to national security.
Read Also: Republican Bill Threatens US EV Industry Leadership Amid China Concerns
Water Supply Concerns
Gotion filed a lawsuit after the township's newly elected board decided not to support the project and revoked an agreement allowing the city of Big Rapids to supply water to the plant site.
Locals also voiced concerns last year about the 715,000 gallons of water per day that the plant would require to manufacture cathodes and anodes for electric vehicle batteries.
Biden Tariffs on Chinese EVs
US-China relations continue to intensify, most notably the Biden administration recently announced that China-made electric vehicles and goods will be subject to a new set of tariffs, quadrupling the Chinese EV tariff from 25% to 100%.
Following a four-year assessment, the decision was made. Its goal was to avert low-priced, heavily subsidized Chinese goods from reaching the US market and impeding the growth of the nation's green technology sector.
According to reports, tariffs on lithium batteries are expected to rise from 7.5% to 25%, semiconductors from 25% to 50%, critical minerals from 0% to 25%, and solar cells from 25% to 50%. Personal protective equipment, aluminum, and steel are currently subject to zero to 7.5% tariffs, which will rise to 25%.
Despite Beijing's threat of retaliation, Biden argued that the higher levies were a fair response to China's excess capacity in the electric vehicle market. According to sources, China can only sell 22 to 23 million EVs domestically despite producing 30 million of them annually.
Biden's auto tariffs are only symbolic because Donald Trump's tariffs during his administration nearly prevented Chinese electric automobiles from entering the US.
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(Photo: Tech Times)
