(Source: MIRS.news, Published 04/05/23) Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) CEO Quentin Messer Jr. and any other state executive or legislative official involved in negotiating the tentative deal to bring battery manufacturer Gotion to Big Rapids may be running afoul of federal law, according to Pete Hoekstra, the former U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands.
Hoekstra suggests Messer and others who signed a non-disclosure agreement with Gotion (written specifically in its Articles of Association) may have skipped a required step by not registering with the U.S. Department of Justice and publicly disclosing any lobbying activity with “foreign principals” related to financial compensation. Gotion is associated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Hoekstra and Joseph CELLA, the former U.S. Ambassador to Fiji asked in a letter Monday that the Assistant Attorney General for National Security investigate the situation and whether the non-disclosure agreement was proper.
"The engagements by Gotion is the latest attempt of subnational incursions of the United State by the PRC [People's Republic of China] and CCP," Hoekstra and Cella wrote. "State and local governments cannot be sovereign entities when it comes to our national security, particularly considering the specific direction from our intelligence agencies who recommend against even signing such agreements."
The letter comes after U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Midland) penned a letter to The Detroit News about his opposition to the company with such loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party being allowed to take advantage of taxpayer dollars.
He said he's asked the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States if the possible battery plant in Mecosta County would be a security risk.
According to testimony at the House Appropriations Committee last month, the Big Rapids project promises 2,350 new jobs, $2.5 billion in investment and average starting salaries of $45,000. Randy Thelen of the Right Place said as many as 42 other companies could spin off investment from this Gotion plant, which the company hopes to start building on 600 acres close to the local airport and the U.S. 131 interchange by April, May or June of this year.
During the testimony, Chuck Thelen, the vice president of North American manufacturing, tried to ease any China concerns by stressing that Gotion is an international company and that Volkswagen owns most of the shares in the company.
MEDC spokesperson Otie McKinley said the agency takes “very seriously its responsibility to accelerate the inclusive growth of the state’s economy on both peninsulas.”
“While we are reviewing the letter’s contents, we will continue to aggressively tell Michigan’s story, aid in the development of small business, revitalize community development and out-hustle and out-compete to win transformational projects in NW Michigan and statewide," he said.
The House Appropriations Committee has already signed off on a $120 million performance-based grant. The Senate Appropriations Committee has the final say on that expenditure. It held a hearing March 22, but did not vote at that time.
An $846 million appropriation was made into the Strategic Outreach and Attraction Fund (SOAR) Fund for the project in 2022.
In related news, presidential candidate Perry Johnson was in Big Rapids today at a protest against the Gotion plant.
“China is undoubtedly the biggest threat to our nation, and it's time to start taking that threat seriously,” Johnson said. "It is unacceptable that we would allow a Chinese company, with ties to the communist party, to plant roots right here in Michigan. These contracts should be going to American manufacturers, or at the very least to our foreign allies - but they should not be awarded to China. We must stand strong against our biggest foreign adversary and say "no" to Gotion."
