Cannot use import statement outside a module

[bennypowers]

Describe the bug
Running a node es module via a CLI, which works under normal circumstances, fails during the "prepare" script run as part of the semantic-release-action CI flow, with the error message:

Cannot use import statement outside a module

Workflow
https://github.com/bennypowers/stripe-elements/runs/5152186759?check_suite_focus=true

release.yml

name: Release
on:
  push:
    branches:
      - master
      - next

jobs:
  test:
    name: Test
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v2
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v2
        with:
          node-version: 16
          cache: npm

      - name: Install Dependencies
        run: npm ci
      - name: Install Coverage Reporter
        run: |
          curl -L https://codeclimate.com/downloads/test-reporter/test-reporter-latest-linux-amd64 > ./cc-test-reporter
          chmod +x ./cc-test-reporter
          ./cc-test-reporter before-build
      - name: Run Tests
        run: npm test
      - name: Format Coverage
        run: ./cc-test-reporter format-coverage -t lcov -o coverage/coverage.json coverage/lcov.info
      - name: Upload Coverage
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v1
        with:
          name: coverage
          path: coverage
      - name: Cache dependencies
        uses: actions/cache@v1
        with:
          path: ~/.npm
          key: ${{ runner.os }}-node-${{ hashFiles('**/package-lock.json') }}
          restore-keys: |
            ${{ runner.os }}-build-${{ env.cache-name }}-
            ${{ runner.os }}-build-
            ${{ runner.os }}-

  release:
    name: Release
    needs: Test
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout
        uses: actions/checkout@v1
      - name: Install dependencies
        run: npm ci
      - name: Semantic Release
        uses: cycjimmy/semantic-release-action@v2
        id: semantic   # Need an `id` for output variables
        with:
          extra_plugins: |
            @semantic-release/changelog
            @semantic-release/git
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GH_TOKEN }}
          NPM_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}

  upload-coverage:
    name: Upload Coverage
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    needs:
      - Test
      - Release
    steps:
      - name: Checkout
        uses: actions/checkout@v1
      - name: Setup Node.js
        uses: actions/setup-node@v1
        with:
          node-version: 12
      - name: Download coverage
        uses: actions/download-artifact@v1
        with:
          name: coverage
      - name: Install Coverage Reporter
        run: |
          curl -L https://codeclimate.com/downloads/test-reporter/test-reporter-latest-linux-amd64 > ./cc-test-reporter
          chmod +x ./cc-test-reporter
      - name: Upload Coverage
        run: ./cc-test-reporter upload-coverage -i coverage/coverage.json
        env:
          CC_TEST_REPORTER_ID: ${{ secrets.CC_TEST_REPORTER_ID }}

Expected behavior
Build proceeds as expected

Additional context
There's an nvmrc with v16.13.0 and "type": "module" in both the project root's package.json and the cli package's package.json

[crutchcorn]

@bennypowers have you happened to fix this issue?

I'm running into the same here:

https://github.com/crutchcorn/houseform/actions/runs/4109368281/jobs/7091406259