Michigan Republican Party Chairman Pete Hoekstra says the only way the United States can deal responsibly with China is to “level the playing field” with a country that refuses to respect international law. I believe.
Hoekstra gave a speech in Freeland on May 1 at the opening of a campaign rally for former President Donald Trump, who served as ambassador to the Netherlands.
Mr. Hoekstra also represented Michigan's 2nd Congressional District from 1993 to 2011 and was a founding member of the House Tea Party Caucus in 2010.
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Mr. Hoekstra, one of the most vocal critics of the Goshon battery parts factory planned for Mecosta County, said the state of Michigan would have to pay taxpayers $800 million to help underwrite a company with ties to China. He said it would be unwise to offer such incentives.
“I've been fighting hard against the electric vehicle battery plant in Big Rapids,” he said. “I don't like giving billions of taxpayer dollars to Chinese companies to strengthen their position in emerging technologies in transportation, which is critical to the United States.”
In October 2022, Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Michigan Economic Development Corporation CEO Quentin Messer Jr. announced state incentives approved by the Michigan Strategic Fund. The deal provides $800 million in incentives for Gotion's $2.4 billion investment to meet growing demand in the battery production industry. The plant will employ approximately 2,300 people in Big Rapids and the surrounding area.
Gotion was founded in China in 1998. In 2014, Goshon opened research and development facilities in California and Ohio. The company also has facilities in Europe and China. Hoekstra denies any evidence that Goshon operates as an American company.
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“If you peel back the layers, you're back in China,” he said.
Goshon recently mailed a letter to 17,000 residents of Green Charter Township, the City of Big Rapids, and Big Rapids Township addressing the “misinformation and malicious lies” being spread about the project.
“Goshon has made the decision to formally debunk the blatant misinformation being spread in the region,” said Chuck Thelen, Goshon's vice president of North American manufacturing. “The categorically false statements, as well as the ongoing xenophobic accusations, needed to be reprimanded.”
“Goshon North American Manufacturing does not comply with China's 'Articles of Incorporation,'” Sellen said in the letter. Michigan welcomes hundreds of China-based companies to the state, all of which are great neighbors with no political assimilation issues. Additionally, there are many Michigan companies doing business in China that have similar articles of incorporation on their filings. China requires them to do so, but the United States does not. We proudly abide by the laws of the United States and the terms and conditions submitted to our California headquarters ten years ago. Chinese laws and politics are not tolerated in Michigan. ”
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U.S. Rep. John Moolener and Hoekstra have been criticized for spreading false information about the project. The two appeared in a video produced by an underground finance lobby group called the EV Taxpayer Task Force. The group argues that the Goshon plant would give China access to U.S. technology as a “Trojan horse” and pose a risk to national security. The location of the Greene Township facility is described in the video as “near Camp Grayling,” but it is located about 160 miles southwest of the National Guard base.
While the development is welcome news to many Big Rapids area residents, Hoekstra said he is “working with” groups that oppose the project. He also serves on the board of directors of the Mecosta Environmental Safety Alliance, which was formed to help fight the construction of the plant.
“I think there were a lot of people in Big Rapids who said, 'We didn't move to Big Rapids to build a megasite.' I think it uses significantly more water than the Ice Mountain plant. ” he said. It's just down the road. You remember that there was a big environmental issue[with Ice Mountain]. No one here is seriously talking about water issues, which I don't understand at all. ”
In July 2023, the Detroit News reported that Hoekstra once lobbied on behalf of Chinese lumber and plywood companies. According to the news, the Washington, D.C.-based law firm Dickstein Shapiro listed Mr. Hoekstra as a lobbyist for the Zhejiang Dehua Tuberculosis Import and Export Company in a 2013 filing with the U.S. House of Representatives.Hoekstra He served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1993 to 2011 and chaired the House Intelligence Committee. ”
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Hoekstra explained that the competitive environment between the United States and China is different today than it was 10 years ago.
“I was in Congress when we voted to give China permanent, normal trade relations. I voted against it,” Hoekstra said. “Those who voted yes said this would usher in a new era of prosperity, a new era of peace and cooperation, and a China that would become more like us and better respect international law and human rights. He said it would be.
Hoekstra said it was clear that the trade deal was a failure by 2013. Now, state-sponsored projects like the Gothion plant are paying off for China's misdeeds, which have raised both business and national security concerns.
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“The China issue has become a bigger problem because China has become much more aggressive militarily and economically. They still don't respect intellectual property and they still use predatory We're doing pricing. I was an ambassador in the (Trump) administration, and the answer was clear: We're willing to do business with China, but we need to do it on a level playing field.
“That's what protects American workers and what keeps us safe as a country.”