A non-disclosure agreement Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) signed last year may concern a Chinese business aiming to establish an EV battery plant near Big Rapids, according to Fox News.
A copy of paperwork gathered by Fox News revealed that Slotkin signed the confidentiality agreement with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation in January of last year. Two projects were added with redactions to the NDA in December 2022. However, The modified NDA said it also applied to any possible confidential Development Project.
The two projects included in the updated NDA are unspecified, but since “any potential” project was added, it may involve the proposed EV battery plant from Gotion, Chinese company Hefei’s subsidiary.
Gotion went into a confidentiality arrangement with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, in accordance with papers obtained by Fox, one month before Slotkin inked the first non-disclosure agreement. In August 2022, Gotion also signed a nondisclosure deal with the city of Big Rapids.
Rep. Slotkin’s earlier rejection looks to conflict with the modified NDA.
Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat running for senate, did not sign a non-disclosure agreement regarding Gotion or any other Chinese-based corporation, as stated by a campaign representative.
The spokesperson once more disputed that Slotkin signed any NDA concerning Gotion when Fox asked them to comment on the recently disclosed documents and referred to the assertion as “patently false.”
The NDA Representative Slotkin signed in January 2022 was to explore constructing a General Motors EV battery plant in her area, a spokesperson for Slotkin said in a statement to Fox News. Any attempt to “conflate” the facts, the spokesperson claimed, is “a dishonest political attack.”
Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan is retiring in 2024, and Slotkin is trying to replace her. She is thought to have the best chance of winning the Democratic nomination.
Joseph Cella, a former US ambassador, and co-founder of the Michigan-China Economic and Security Review Group, explained to Fox News that Slotkin’s decision to sign a non-disclosure agreement, possibly involving a project proposed by a company associated with the Chinese government, is “reckless” and demonstrates a gross insufficient prudential judgment.
