U.S. Senator Marcio Rubio on Wednesday asked the Biden administration to investigate Ford Motor Co.’s plan to partner with PT Vale Indonesia and China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt in a $4.5 billion nickel processing plant in Indonesia.
Rubio, who is the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the venture threatens U.S. national security and asked the Justice, State, Treasury, Commerce, Homeland Security departments as well as the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate the plan.
Ford had no immediate comment.
Rubio’s letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken cited Huayou calling the project “one of the flagship projects under the Belt and Road Initiative” when Ford announced the deal in March.
Rubio said the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative is one of the primary mechanisms China “uses to spread its influence around the world and gain control of critical infrastructure and natural resources.”
The investment is Ford’s first in Indonesia and underscores growing appetite among automakers for raw materials used in producing EV batteries, which account for about 40 percent of a vehicle’s sticker price, aiming to cut costs and close the gap on EV market leader Tesla Inc.
