The chairman of the battery giant expressed openness to investing in a U.S. facility, and Trump has previously indicated he would welcome China-backed projects.
Electric cars with batteries from China’s CATL don’t currently qualify for tax credits due to restrictions in the Inflation Reduction Act, but that could change with support from Donald Trump. CATL has expressed interest in building a U.S.-based battery plant if Trump approves the project.
CATL chairman Robin Zeng mentioned that previous outreach to American lawmakers was unsuccessful but suggested he hadn’t entirely dismissed the idea.
“When we initially sought to invest in the U.S., the government declined,” Zeng told Reuters. “Personally, I’m very open-minded, and I do hope they’ll be receptive to investments in the future.”
While both Democrats and Republicans, including President-elect Trump, want to prevent Chinese-made cars from entering the U.S. market, Trump has previously indicated he wouldn’t oppose these automakers setting up U.S.-based factories to produce cars and create jobs.
“We’ll offer incentives, and if China or other countries want to sell their cars here, they’ll need to build plants here and employ our workers,” Trump has said.
It’s reasonable to expect a similar welcome for companies in the supplier sector like CATL, which may find it easier to gain U.S. government approval than a Chinese automaker would, given lawmakers’ concerns over the security risks associated with Chinese-made connected cars.
Currently, CATL doesn’t manufacture batteries under its own name in the U.S. due to legal restrictions, but it has licensed its technology to Ford. Ford is set to open its BlueOval Battery Park in Michigan, where it will produce lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for the F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E.
