Moolenaar, Rubio, Lawmakers Uncover Shocking New Evidence of Slave Labor Links at Chinese Battery Companies Gotion, CATL & Demand Immediate Blacklist

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), House Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-TN), Homeland Security and Government Affairs Subcommittee Chairman Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), and Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL) joined the effort.

Products made with Uyghur forced labor are strictly prohibited from entering the United States. The Department of Homeland Security maintains a Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List to enforce the prohibition. Companies that have engaged in forced labor are placed on the list and blacklisted from the United States.

Chairman Moolenaar said, “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.”

To protect American taxpayers and US companies from being tainted by the grave human rights abuses of Gotion and CATL, Chairman Moolenaar demanded that the Department of Homeland Security immediately blacklist Gotion and CATL. In the letters, the lawmakers provide newfound evidence, documenting the horrific ties between Gotion, CATL, Chinese paramilitary organizations, slave labor, and the Uyghur genocide. Some examples include:

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.

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 lawmakers requested an immediate briefing if for some reason DHS determines to not place CATL and Gotion on the blacklist.

Read the letter on CATL HERE.

Read the letter on Gotion HERE.