This has led to new criticism of the Ford Motor Company's relationship with CATL. Ford plans to license CATL's technology at the BlueOval EV battery plant it's building in Marshall. The Defense Department publishes a list of "Chinese military companies" annually, in accordance with federal law.

The automaker has long faced pushback over its plan to license Chinese battery technology at its multibillion plant in Michigan.

Ford has a licensing agreement to manufacture electric vehicle batteries with technology from a Chinese company that's under scrutiny at the Pentagon.