Great Lakes Wire

The Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party announced on X its opposition to extending timelines that would allow Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) to access U.S. taxpayer funds, citing the need for supply chains free from Chinese Communist Party affiliations.

According to the Select Committee, Chairman John Moolenaar and other lawmakers have uncovered evidence linking major Chinese battery manufacturers, including CATL, to state-sponsored forced labor programs involving the Uyghur population. The committee has called for immediate action to prevent these companies from accessing U.S. taxpayer funds and participating in American supply chains. This stance reflects ongoing concerns about human rights abuses and national security risks associated with Chinese companies' involvement in critical industries.

In letters to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Select Committee detailed findings that CATL sources key components from companies linked to forced labor practices. Specifically, CATL was reported to have sourced lithium-ion anode materials from a company controlled by the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), a Chinese paramilitary organization sanctioned by the U.S. for its role in the oppression of Uyghurs. The committee told DHS to add CATL to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List to block its products from entering the U.S. market.

In April 2025, Moolenaar's committee sent letters to JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America, imploring them to withdraw from underwriting CATL's initial public offering in Hong Kong. The committee cited CATL's designation as a "Chinese military company" by the U.S. Department of Defense and its alleged ties to forced labor practices as reasons for concern. Lawmakers informed that participation in the IPO could expose the banks to regulatory, financial, and reputational risks.

The Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party is a bipartisan panel formed by the U.S. House of Representatives in January 2023. Its primary role is to investigate multifaceted challenges posed by the Chinese Communist Party and propose legislative solutions concerning economic, technological, and geopolitical competition. The committee's work emphasizes safeguarding U.S. national security, upholding human rights, and reinforcing supply chain resilience.