Chinese firm sues Michigan town for opposing EV battery project
Jason Kruse, Green Charter Township supervisor, discusses a Chinese firm's lawsuit against his Michigan town over community members' opposition to an EV battery project.
A small Michigan town is fighting back after being sued by a multi-billion-dollar Chinese energy company over residents' opposition to its electric vehicle (EV) battery project in the community.
"We were elected to protect the people in our township," Green Charter Township Supervisor Jason Kruse told "Fox & Friends First," Wednesday.
The lawsuit, filed by Gotion Inc. – whose parent company, Gotion High-Tech is based in Hefei, China, and has documented ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) – is the latest escalation in a months-long feud over building production plants in the tiny U.S. town.
MASSIVE CHINESE FIRM SUES SMALL MICHIGAN TOWN OVER OPPOSITION TO CONTROVERSIAL EV BATTERY PROJECT
(Green Charter Township)
The issue dates back to October 2022, when Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Gotion would invest $2.4 billion to construct two large production plants along with other supporting facilities in Green Charter.
In the months that followed, the township approved a resolution in support of Gotion's project and authorized private negotiations that resulted in a development agreement.
"Gotion came into our area promising a lot of money," Kruse said.
"Our local officers grabbed at it, set this project up, and there wasn't a lot of transparency."
The deal sparked uproar, resulting in residents ousting all the town's board members in November 2023. Kruse and the new board immediately rescinded the agreement amid worries over Gotion's connections to the CCP.
"It's a big concern in our community," Kruse said.
Gotion's lawsuit alleges that the town's leaders are "motivated by clear anti-Gotion animus," asking the court to reinstate canceled permits in the township and allow the project to move forward.
"The Development Agreement was and remains a legally binding agreement between Gotion and the Township," the federal lawsuit states.
Li Zhen, founder and chairman of Gotion High Tech Co., during the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore, on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. The New Economy Forum is being organized by Bloomberg Media Group, a division of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News. (Lionel Ng/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Under the economic development package awarded to Gotion, the company is set to receive $175 million in taxpayer-funded incentives and more than $500 million in tax incentives.
"It’s unfortunate that Gotion has had to resort to litigation to get the township to comply with their obligations under the agreement," Chuck Thelen, Gotion’s vice president of North American operations, said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. "We’re unable to comment further since this is now an ongoing legal matter."
Fox News' Thomas Catenacci contributed to this report.