U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), in his role as chairman of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), presented evidence that links major Chinese battery manufacturers Gotion and CATL to state-sponsored slave labor programs.
In two June 5 letters sent to Department of Homeland Security Under Secretary Robert Silvers, Rep. Moolenaar and four of his Republican colleagues make the case that the products made with egregious Uyghur forced labor practices are strictly prohibited from entering the United States.
The lawmakers in the letter requested that the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force immediately place Gotion and CATL on the Department of Homeland Security’s Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List and be blacklisted from the United States.
“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,” Rep. Moolenaar said on June 6.
In the letters, the lawmakers provide new evidence that documents the ties between Gotion, CATL, Chinese paramilitary organizations, slave labor, and the Uyghur genocide. For example, the letter states that CATL sources lithium-ion anode materials from a company controlled by the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, a Chinese paramilitary organization that was sanctioned by the United States for its direct contribution to the Uyghur genocide.
U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL), U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-TN), and House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security Chairman Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) also signed the letter.
Rep. LaHood said The Select Committee and his office would continue to conduct necessary oversight to protect Illinois taxpayers from the influence of malign activities and human rights violations.
“As companies linked to the CCP receive billions of taxpayer dollars in federal and state subsidies, we have an obligation to ensure they abide by federal law and the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. The Select Committee’s investigation reveals damning information about the entanglement of Gotion’s supply chains in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,” Rep. LaHood said.
Rep. Moolenaar added that Americans expect companies in the United States to avoid all involvement with the CCP’s campaign of genocide.