10:31 AM EDT, 06/06/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with comment from Contemporary Amperex Technology's spokesperson in the fourth paragraph.)

Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), the world's largest electric car battery with ties to Ford Motor ( F ) and Volkswagen, should be added to an import-ban list, a group of Republican lawmakers said in two letters sent to the Biden administration that are scheduled to be made public Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The lawmakers said that CATL, as well as Volkswagen-backed battery company Gotion High-Tech, allegedly use forced labor within their supply chains and should be added to an entity list under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, according to the report.

The letters' signees include Rep. John Moolenaar, head of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, Rep. Mark Green, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, and Sen. Marco Rubio, the Journal said.

"CATL opposes and prohibits any forms of forced labor in the operations of CATL and our suppliers," the company's spokesperson told MT Newswires in an email. "Any suggestion that CATL has used forced labor, or has any connection to forced labor, is absolutely false."

Gotion, Ford and Volkswagen did not respond to requests for comment.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

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