Chinese battery plant being paid for by tax payers; Illinois plant set to cost us billions

Opposition-Chinese-Battery-Plant

Important Takeaways:

  • Opposition grows to proposed Chinese battery plant subsidized by taxpayers
  • Opposition is building against a proposed Chinese battery plant for Manteno in Kankakee County.
  • Gotion Incorporated, with reported ties to the Chinese Communist Party, is set to receive more than $7 billion in federal tax credits, and over $500 million in subsidies from Illinois.
  • During a news conference Monday in Manteno, State Rep. Brad Halbrook, R-Shelbyville, said the tax incentives don’t add up.
  • “The total subsidies for the plant calculate to an astounding $3 million for each job created,” Halbrook said. “Why are U.S. taxpayers providing $8 billion in economic incentives for the construction of a plant that costs $2 billion to build?”
  • The plant will produce battery cells and battery packs designed to be used in electric vehicles and large-scale energy storage systems.
  • J.B. Pritzker has called the agreement “the most significant new manufacturing investment in Illinois in decades.”
  • Former Congressman and U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra chaired the House Intelligence Committee. He is also involved with the opposition to the Michigan plant.
  • “History lesson number one, China is our enemy, they are not a competitor,” Hoekstra said. “They seek to destroy us and our communities.”
  • The proposed plant, which state officials said will create 2,600 jobs, is slated to begin production in 2024.

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