DETROIT, MI – Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, alongside Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) and Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), met with the CEOs of Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. as well as leading automotive suppliers in Detroit on Tuesday.
In the meetings, members of the Select Committee sought to better understand how Congress can help the auto industry reduce its reliance on PRC supply chains. The lawmakers also discussed bipartisan steps to make sure American companies dominate the next generation of critical automotive technologies.
In a press conference following the meetings, Chairman Mike Gallagher said, “We’re here today because we know that American workers and American companies are on the front lines of this competition with the Chinese Communist Party. And in some ways, nobody’s been hit harder by the predatory practices of the CCP than hardworking men and women in the industrial Midwest. For too long, we’ve ignored the CCP’s blatant violation of trade agreements, intellectual property theft, [and] its economic coercion that disadvantages American workers and does not allow us to compete on a level playing field.”
Chairman Gallagher also warned that any deal with PRC automotive companies should be ineligible for Inflation Reduction Act tax credits – “The goal of the Inflation Reduction Act… was to reduce our dependence on China in key areas… we want to make sure that we are actually advancing towards that objective and not unintentionally deepening our dependence on certain Chinese companies.”
Watch remarks from the press conference in Detroit above or click HERE
Click HERE for a full transcript of the press conference
