Overview
- Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent a letter to Ford CEO Jim Farley on Tuesday urging the company to sever or rethink commercial ties with Chinese firms because they raise “profound concern” for national security.
- The DOT singled out Ford’s licensed use of CATL battery technology at its Marshall, Michigan plant, the July Geely joint venture that gives Geely a 34% stake in the operator of Ford’s Valencia plant from 2027, and reported talks with BYD on hybrid components.
- Duffy also criticized Ford’s plan to keep building the Lincoln Nautilus in China through 2030 and faulted a framework Farley discussed in January for enabling Chinese joint ventures in the U.S.
- Ford replied within hours, calling the letter a “wrongheaded attempt to capture headlines,” and defended that it owns and controls the Marshall plant, has made large U.S. investments and employs the local workforce.
- The DOT’s letter proposes no sanctions and the department has limited power to force sourcing changes, so Congress is now the likeliest route to tougher limits and waiver rules on Chinese-made vehicles, a move that could affect jobs, supply chains and upcoming U.S.-China diplomacy.