Michigan lawmakers opposed to taxpayer subsidies for electric vehicle battery plants are amplifying those concerns following the news that a Chinese battery manufacturer has been blacklisted by the federal government.

State Rep. Sarah Lightner, R-Springport, on Wednesday renewed her call for Michigan to claw back taxpayer subsidies awarded to Ford for its BlueOval electric vehicle battery plant in Marshall.

This follows Tuesday’s announcement that the U.S. Department of Defense has blacklisted the Chinese battery company Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. and others from federal contracts. CATL is partnering with Ford on the Marshall battery plant project.

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“These latest developments underscore what I’ve been saying all along — projects like this require much stricter oversight,” Lightner said. “We must have safeguards in place to protect taxpayers from financial risks and national security threats. If a project is tanking, or it turns out to have ties to a questionable company, we need the ability to claw back those funds and redirect them to better uses.”

The Pentagon will blacklist China’s largest EV battery manufacturer and its largest tech firm beginning in June 2026, The Detroit News reports. CATL is the world’s largest electric vehicle battery manufacturer and supplies Tesla. The list also includes tech giant Tencent, the Chinese company behind video games, messaging platform WeChat, and other social media networks.

On Tuesday, the U.S. DoD included CATL and Tencent on its 1260H list, which identifies firms operating in the U.S. that contribute to China’s military buildup or work on behalf of its military. This means they are barred from entering into Defense Department contracts.

In addition, it sounds the alarm to American businesses about the risks of doing business with companies on the list, particularly their efforts to undermine U.S. national security.

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Lightner hasn’t wavered on her stance regarding the state’s corporate giveaways and handling of economic development incentives. Lightner, joined by Republican colleagues, has consistently raised red flags about the lack of transparency and safeguards for taxpayer-subsidized projects.

Ford partnered with CATL on the BlueOval Battery Park Michigan, which initially received $1.7 billion in state incentives from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration.

Ford is on track to begin production of lithium iron phosphate batteries in 2026 for Ford’s future electric vehicles. Ford briefly paused the BlueOval project before deciding to move forward with a scaled-down facility.

Lightner said the DoD’s blacklisting of CATL warrants a renewed effort to end the state’s involvement in the BlueOval project.

“This new federal action against CATL validates the concerns many of us have been raising for months,” Lightner said. “Michigan cannot afford to gamble with taxpayer money on a project linked to a company flagged for ties to the Chinese military. It’s time to claw back these funds and protect our economic and national security.”

Republican lawmakers in Michigan and Washington have called for the Defense Department to take action to protect national security interests.

The Michigan Legislature’s Working Group for National Security raised concerns nearly a year ago regarding CATL’s involvement in the U.S. supply chain, including connections to forced labor and close ties with the Chinese Communist Party.

“Michigan cannot afford to overlook the risks associated with partnering with CATL on the Marshall battery plant,” said Rep. Will Bruck (R-Erie), co-chair of the Michigan Legislature’s Working Group for National Security, in a House GOP news release last February. “We must ensure that our economic development efforts align with our values and national security interests.”

The WGNS even called for a thorough review of the Ford-CATL project, emphasizing the need to prioritize state interests, national security, and ethical considerations in all economic ventures.

Republican lawmakers introduced several initiatives to ensure greater accountability for projects funded through the Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve fund, which was used to subsidize the Marshall plant.

Lightner supported a $725.3 million negative supplemental appropriations plan to return previously allocated SOAR funds and related infrastructure funding for the Marshall project to the state’s general fund.

Republican lawmakers also supported legislation to mandate annual audits of the SOAR fund and proposals to establish automatic claw-back provisions requiring unspent funds to return to the general fund if a project is canceled or indefinitely paused.

The DoD Section 1260H list, mandated annually by Congress since 2021, stems from an order signed by President Donald Trump during his first term in 2020. It essentially bans American investment in Chinese companies that are owned or controlled by the military, Bloomberg reports.

Other firms recently added to the list are China’s top commercial-jet-maker, a DNA-sequencing firm with U.S. ties and two companies at the heart of China’s surveillance-technology boom.

The move effectively bans CATL and others added to the list Tuesday from bidding for contracts with the U.S. armed forces. It also raises concerns about CATL’s activity in Michigan and close ties to the Chinese Communist Party, which poses a risk to America’s infrastructure, military and national security.

“Unfortunately, our state’s Democrat officials have not taken this topic seriously,” said Sen. Jonathan Lindsey, R-Allen, in the House GOP release. “Our working group will never ignore these tough topics, including the very real national security concerns surrounding Chinese Communist Party linked battery plants.”