The United States Department of Transportation has issued an open letter to Ford Motor Company over its continued partnerships with Chinese entities. Department secretary Sean Duffy addressed Ford’s CEO, Jim Farley, expressing “profound concern” over manufacturing integrity, supply chain exposure, and reliance on technology from “foreign adversaries.”
In the Philippines, it is no secret that the American carmaker has existing ties with China. The popular Territory crossover is a product of Ford’s joint venture with JMC, and speculation suggests that the China-built Bronco Basecamp could make for a promising local release.
However, Duffy and his department are more disgruntled with the Blue Oval’s use of Chinese EV batteries on US soil and its plan to develop more collaborations. In the eyes of the US, these initiatives could deprive Americans of jobs and create a dependency on Chinese components. The latter includes not only physical equipment, but also expertise and operational knowledge.
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Ford’s new joint venture with Geely has even ruffled some feathers, despite its bounds staying within Spain and other European markets. Even Ford’s exploratory engagements with BYD have gotten the US government on its toes.
While Duffy did not direct Ford to alter any of its engagements, he instead invited Farley to reconsider the carmaker’s trajectory.
The government official explained: “Ford must demonstrate a level of corporate citizenship that prioritizes the long-term resilience and technological sovereignty of the United States automotive ecosystem over short-term arrangements or questionable foreign alliances.”
Farley replied to the department, noting that there were misguided perspectives and factual errors in Duffy’s letter. He affirmed his and Ford’s commitment to their home market, saying: “Ford is the most American automaker. We produce more vehicles in the US, employ more hourly manufacturing workers, and export more vehicles from the US than any other automaker.
“Ford believes the United States must compete from a position of strength with American ownership, American jobs, American production, and strong national-security safeguards. That is exactly what we are doing across our US manufacturing footprint.”
At the time of writing, reports indicate that Farley is currently in China, meeting with partners from JMC.
