US Warns Ford Over China Ties

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent a sharp rebuke to Ford Motor Company on Tuesday, expressing profound concern over the automaker's deepening ties with Chinese firms and warning that these relationships pose risks to national security and American manufacturing. In a letter addressed to Ford CEO Jim Farley, Duffy criticized the company's strategic decisions, stating that "the Companys recent strategic decisions paint a troubling picture of a foundational American brand actively intertwining its future with Chinese statebacked enterprises." Duffy pointed to several specific examples that raised alarms for the Department of Transportation. These included Ford's licensing agreement for battery technology from Chinese manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) for its Marshall, Michigan, battery plant, a joint venture with Geely Automobile Holdings in Europe, and the delayed timeline for ending Lincoln Nautilus production in China, which could extend until 2030. The secretary argued that such dependencies on technology from "foreign adversaries" and reliance on Chinese manufacturing could jeopardize supply chains and American jobs.