Ford blasted by Trump administration over deals with Chinese companies including CATL, Geely, BYD – report

Ford and Geely announced a joint-venture in July

The Trump administration is not happy about Ford’s deals with Chinese firms, Reuters writes in three separate reports. Transportation secretary Sean Duffy urged Ford CEO Jim Farley in a letter on Tuesday to sever ties with CATL, Geely and BYD, saying the Blue Oval’s dealings with Chinese companies were “troubling” and raised “profound concern.”

The letter said that the transportation department was “deeply alarmed” by Ford’s reliance on licensed technology from CATL at its Marshall, Michigan plant, and that CATL is on the Pentagon’s list of companies accused of ties to China’s military.

Duffy also said the decision to move Lincoln Nautilus production from China to the US only by 2030 leaves Ford reliant on Chinese manufacturing for several more years.

The Ford Bronco Basecamp a.k.a. Bronco New Energy has Chinese underpinnings

Less than 24 hours after the letter, the Republican-controlled house select committee on China posted on X that Ford has by turns warned of the threat Chinese companies pose to the US and yet is partnering with some of them. “This is what Ford says vs. what it does,” the post read.

Republicans were quick to chime in, with senator Rick Scott praising Duffy for “sounding the alarm about Ford’s risky ties to (Chinese Communist Party) companies” and representative John Moolenaar, the China committee chair, commending Duffy “for calling out Ford’s growing reliance on Chinese companies, including CATL and Geely.” Moolenaar added that “Ford should work with our nation’s allies, not our adversaries.”

Contradictorily, on X the same day, the White House called Ford a “great American company” that had invested in US production, and commerce secretary Howard Lutnick just weeks ago lauded some of the very moves Duffy panned in his letter.

Ford CEO Jim Farley

What did Ford have to say? In a statement, the Blue Oval called Duffy’s letter “a wrongheaded attempt to capture ​headlines”, adding that “while others continue to import Chinese batteries, Ford is investing to build batteries ​here in America” and that “Ford owns the plant, controls the operation and employs the workforce.”

Reuters writes that the mixed messages reflect a broader debate – president Trump wants to protect US industries from Chinese competition and rebuild US manufacturing, but administration officials have signalled differences over where collaboration with Chinese companies is going too far.

Last week, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents major carmakers including General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Honda and Stellantis, urged Congress to pass legislation barring Chinese vehicles before year-end.

Add paultan.org as a preferred source on Google SearchAdd Follow paultan.org on Google NewsFollow