The Chinese Communist Party junta in Beijing clamors for even more access to the capital markets of the United States, the money center of the world. But that access carries material risks to our country.
First, it compromises our industrial base because threats of espionage and sabotage follow those acquisitions and capital flows. For example, just last week, Reuters reported that rogue cellular radios and communications devices were found in Chinese batteries, EV chargers, and solar panels that are already in the United States.
Second, granting access to U.S. markets grants legitimacy and financial power to one of the most brutal and repressive regimes on earth, one that grows increasingly blunt in its anti-American posture. America should not be in the business of financing an enemy.
Despite these clear warnings, the People’s Republic of China, with help from the Biden administration, Democratic governors, and members of Congress, has established footholds in America’s emerging electric vehicle battery sector.
Gotion, a company with deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party, has begun building plants in Michigan and Illinois despite strong local pushback. Last year, President Trump wrote on Truth Social that the Gotion plants “would put Michiganders under the thumb of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing.”
CATL, a company designated by the Pentagon as a “Chinese Military Company,” is working with Ford in Michigan and also has footprints in several other states. Secretary of State and acting National Security Advisor Marco Rubio previously sought to block CATL’s Michigan plant, writing that the facility will “only deepen U.S. reliance on the Chinese Communist Party for battery tech.” He also highlighted the company’s “ties to forced labor and to Xinjiang” and urged the Department of Homeland Security to add CATL to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List, which would blacklist its products in the United States.
President Trump and Secretary Rubio are right — but even with Republicans in control of Washington, these malicious actors continue to operate in the U.S. Now, the new reconciliation bill, deemed the “Big Beautiful Bill,” just passed in the House—and it fails to fix loopholes created by the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). As this legislation moves to the Senate, it leaves the window open for Chinese companies to benefit from massive U.S. tax credits, specifically the 45x Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit, an uncapped incentive program for certain manufacturing projects.
Unless the Senate takes action to fix this legislation, the American taxpayer will be on the hook for funding our foremost adversary. While Chinese companies cannot receive tax credits on their own, they can easily bypass these restrictions by establishing joint ventures or taking advantage of projects that license Chinese technology to receive tax credits for at least two more years.
Right now, the highest-profile project that would benefit from these credits is Ford’s BlueOval Battery Park Michigan, which relies on CATL’s battery technology. Under this arrangement, Ford will pay CATL to license its technology and operational services for the plant.
Under the House-passed bill, U.S. companies that receive “material assistance” from prohibited foreign entities like CATL will remain eligible to receive 45X tax credits for at least two years. Ford has yet to disclose the details of this arrangement, despite threats of Congressional subpoena, so the American people still have no idea of how much of their dollars will flow to Beijing.
Ford has committed itself to this project—despite the clear economic and national security threats. Ford ignores the U.S. Department of Defense, which has already outlawed battery procurement from CATL, Gotion, and four other Chinese companies.
So, will the Senate protect America? Will the Senate stop China’s malicious efforts to dominate America’s critical technologies?
As a first step, the Senate must mandate no U.S. tax credits to any PRC-affiliated companies. None. Moving further, they should stop PRC companies from further infiltrating America’s industrial base and block U.S. companies from working domestically with any company listed by the Department of Defense as a Chinese Military Company or that is considered a foreign entity of concern.
Since entering public life, President Trump has elevated the threat that China poses to the United States. He has changed the paradigm of how Americans think about the Chinese regime. In this new White House term, he can use all tools of American power to confront this Chinese threat and ensure America’s prosperity and security far into the future.
Steve Cortes is president of the League of American Workers, a populist right pro-laborer advocacy group, and senior political advisor to Catholic Vote.
He is a former senior advisor to President Trump and JD Vance, plus a former commentator for Fox News and CNN.
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TIPP Takes
Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, And More
1. Ukraine Urges Russia To Present Peace Plan Ahead Of Istanbul Talks - RFE/RL
Ukrainian officials said Russia should put forth its peace plan for ending the war in Ukraine immediately instead of waiting for a new round of talks next week in Istanbul.
Russia said it wants the talks with Ukraine to take place on June 2 and will use the meeting to present a "memorandum" outlining its terms for a peace settlement. Ukraine has not yet officially agreed to Russia's proposed meeting on June 2.
2. Russia Masses Over 50,000 Troops For Offensive On Northeastern Ukraine, Zelenskiy Says - Reuters
Russia has massed more than 50,000 troops, including some of its best forces, near Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region, but Kyiv has taken steps to prevent them from conducting a large-scale offensive, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.
The build-up comes as Russia appears to be gearing up for a summer offensive in Ukraine while Kyiv waits for Moscow to present a memorandum laying out its conditions to proceed with ceasefire talks.
3. Rubio: U.S. To 'Aggressively Revoke' Visas Of Chinese Students - UPI
The State Department will work with the Department of Homeland Security on the visa revocations, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in the two-sentence press release.
The press release additionally announced that the Trump administration "will also revise visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications from the People's Republic of China and Hong Kong." The visa changes could potentially affect university pocketbooks. There are more students from China studying at U.S. universities than colleges than from any other country aside from India, according to U.S. statistics.
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Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on X that the “move exposes the hypocrisy behind the U.S.’s claims of freedom and openness,” Lin said. “It will further damage the image and reputation of the U.S. itself.”
The Chinese government said it has officially protested to Washington over the move, which it says undermines people-to-people ties between the two nations.
5. China Launches Mission To Get Asteroid Samples - D.W.
China launched its first space mission to retrieve samples from a nearby asteroid and conduct research back home, the Xinhua state news agency reported.
The Tianwen-2 probe is scheduled to arrive at the asteroid in July 2026 and shoot a capsule packed with rocks back to Earth for a landing in November 2027. A successful completion of the mission could make China, a fast-growing space power, the third nation to get hold of the pristine asteroid rocks.
6. Israel Approves Largest West Bank Settlement Expansion In Decades - TIPP Insights
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The decision, announced in a joint statement by Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, includes legalizing 12 unauthorized outposts, building nine entirely new settlements, and converting one neighborhood into a standalone settlement. Peace Now condemned the move as part of Israel’s “de facto annexation” of the West Bank, saying the government “no longer pretends otherwise.”
7. Hamas Reviewing Latest U.S. Ceasefire Proposal In Gaza - TIPP insights
Hamas confirmed it has received the latest U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal for Gaza through mediators and is currently reviewing the offer, according to a statement released.
The proposal was put forward by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, who has been leading American mediation efforts. Details of the plan have not yet been made public. Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the U.S. proposal, offering political backing if far-right ministers attempt to block it.
8. U.S.-Iran Nuclear Talks Stall, Raising Risk Of Escalation And Sanctions - RFE/RL
As the fifth round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States wrapped up in Rome earlier this month, there have been reports about proposals to break the deadlock.
Despite a languishing economy and weak currency, Iran's President Masud Pezeshkian asserted that the country will do fine even without an agreement. With no date set for the next round of talks, the path forward remains uncertain – and the longer the stalemate drags on, the greater the risk that diplomacy gives way to escalation.
9. US To Remove Syria From 'Terror Sponsor' List - TRT Global
United States President Donald Trump will soon declare Syria a state that doesn't sponsor terrorism, US envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack said.
Barrack, who arrived in Damascus on Thursday, said Trump's goal is to empower Syria's current government. He added that the US Congress backs Trump's steps towards Syria.
10. Liberal Candidate Lee Leads South Korea Presidential Race - TIPP Insights
Liberal frontrunner Lee Jae-myung still leads his main conservative rival Kim Moon-soo by more than 10 percentage points, even though the race has tightened ahead of the election on June 3.
11. Trump Tariffs Reinstated By Appeals Court For Now - CNBC
A federal appeals court granted the Trump administration’s request to temporarily pause a lower-court ruling that struck down most of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The Trump administration had told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that it might seek “emergency relief” from the Supreme Court.
12. Musk Exits Trump Admin, Says It’s Time To ‘Get Back To Business’ - TIPP Insights
Elon Musk is stepping down from his role as a special adviser in the Trump administration, ending a turbulent stint as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
His departure comes as his term as a Special Government Employee expires this month. In a post on X, Musk thanked President Donald Trump “for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending” and vowed that the DOGE mission “will only strengthen over time.” The billionaire had led efforts to slash the federal workforce and cut $160 billion in government spending.
13. Trump Signals Tweaks To Tax Bill After Musk Criticism - TIPP Insights
President Donald Trump said he’s open to renegotiating parts of his signature tax and spending bill following criticism from Elon Musk, who argued the legislation undermines cost-cutting efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“We will be negotiating that bill, and I’m not happy about certain aspects of it, but I’m thrilled by other aspects,” Trump told reporters, adding the bill “needs to get a lot of support” in Congress.
14. Canada: Thousands Evacuate Manitoba As Wildfires Rage - D.W.
More than 17,000 people in Canada's Manitoba province were being evacuated on Wednesday as wildfires raged. "This is the largest evacuation Manitoba will have seen in most people's living memory," Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said.
The worst wildfire season in Canadian history occurred in 2023. There are currently 134 wildfires raging across Canada, including fires in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. Half of these fires are considered out of control.
15. India Greenlights Stealth Fighter Program Amid Tensions With Pakistan - TIPP Insights
India's defense ministry announced that it has approved a new stealth fighter jet program just weeks after a border clash with Pakistan.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh cleared a framework for developing the fifth-generation twin-engine fighter by the state-run Aeronautical Development Agency. The project will soon seek bids from both private and public firms to build a prototype, with an eye toward boosting the Indian Air Force's shrinking fleet. With Pakistan now operating advanced Chinese J-10 jets, India is racing to modernize.
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The cost of insuring exposure to U.S. government debt has been rising. Investors are pricing in the increased concerns around the unresolved debt ceiling, several industry watchers said.
The surge in CDS prices is likely a “short-lived” reaction while traders wait for a new budget deal to raise the debt limit.
17. Study: Weight Loss In Middle Age Might Add Years To Your Life - HealthDay News
Researchers found that people who lost about 6.5% of their body weight – without using weight loss drugs or surgery – reaped big health benefits later in life, CNN reported. For someone who weighs 180 pounds, that's just shy of a 12-pound weight loss.
People who lost weight were less likely to suffer from heart attacks, strokes, cancer, asthma, and lung diseases like COPD, the study found. They were also less likely to die from any cause over the next 35 years.
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The suspected connection between lack of proper sleep and stroke got stronger with the publication of a study associating brain tissue damage and impaired thinking with long in-bed time among post-stroke patients.
Stroke patients who spent the most time in bed also scored slightly lower in cognition tests of thinking and memory skills, according to researchers.
