By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Two top Republican lawmakers on Wednesday asked the U.S. Defense Department to add Chinese battery maker CATL to a restricted list of companies allegedly working with Beijing's military.
Companies added to the list cannot receive U.S. military contracts and being added to the list carries significant reputational risks, experts say.
Senator Marco Rubio, the vice chair of the Intelligence Committee, and Representative John Moolenaar, who chairs the House Select Committee on China, asked Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to immediately place CATL -- formally known as China's Contemporary Amperex Technology Co -- on the list saying "it would also send a powerful signal to U.S. companies that are currently weighing partnerships with CATL."
CATL said its battery products have helped millions of Americans during power outages and are passive products "that pose no more of a threat to national security than a brick." The company said the lawmakers' letter "makes accusations that are factually inaccurate and completely groundless," adding CATL "is not controlled by the Chinese government."
The Pentagon did not immediately comment.
The lawmakers said CATL has deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party and its military, and they argued "reliance on CATL batteries endangers U.S. national security by making us dependent on the CCP for energy infrastructure."
In February, under pressure from lawmakers, U.S. utility company Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) said it plans to decommission energy-storage batteries produced by CATL at one of the nation's largest Marine Corps bases and will phase out CATL products at its civilian projects.
The lawmakers noted that Ford Motor (NYSE:F) is building a battery plant in Michigan and plans to license CATL technology to produce low-cost lithium-iron batteries at the facility. Lawmakers including Rubio have raised serious concerns about the plan.
In February, the Defense Department added more than a dozen Chinese companies to the list as part of a broader effort to keep American technology from aiding China.
The companies added in February include memory chip maker YMTC, artificial intelligence company Megvii, lidar maker Hesai Technology and tech company NetPosa. They joined previously listed aviation company AVIC, BGI Genomics Co, China Mobile (NYSE:CHL) energy company CNOOC (NYSE:CEO) and China Railway Construction Corp.