Ford blasts White House criticism of China tech partners, calls Duffy letter ‘wrongheaded’
Ford (F) stock was volatile a day after the White House questioned its strategy of using Chinese partners. Ford responded forcefully after the bell, hinting at possible behind-the-scenes drama.
In a letter to Ford CEO Jim Farley on Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy expressed “profound concern” over Ford’s strategic decisions regarding “manufacturing integrity, supply chain exposure, and reliance on technologies of foreign adversaries,” specifically China.
The main concern for Duffy was Ford’s use of Chinese battery-maker CATL tech in its Marshall, Michigan battery factory, Ford’s joint factory with Geely in Spain, and Ford’s ongoing talks with BYD for hybrid vehicle components, as well as a supposed plan put forth by Farley to facilitate Chinese joint ventures (JVs) in the US.
Ford shares fell in Tuesday’s trade, before recovering slightly on Wednesday.
Interestingly, Duffy also mentioned a delayed reshoring of Lincoln Nautilus production to the US from China, which is a major focus of President Trump and his controversial tariff plan.
Ford didn’t pull punches with its response to Duffy’s letter. “Secretary Duffy’s head-scratcher of a letter comes a week after [the] White House touted the very same job-creating Michigan project he’s questioning,” Ford’s Chief Communications officer Mark Truby blasted on X.com, linking to Ford’s official response.
Duffy’s letter was a “wrongheaded attempt to capture headlines at the expense of a company that has done more for American manufacturing than virtually any other in the nation’s history,” Ford opened with its response, adding that while other rivals and foreign competitors relied on importing vehicles in the US, Ford was “doubling down” on US production.
Part of that US production is the battery plant in Michigan, which Ford sought to clarify again. “The CATL arrangement is a limited technology-licensing and services agreement, not a joint venture or foreign-owned manufacturing operation. Ford owns the plant, controls the operation and employs the workforce.”
Ford also called Duffy’s assertion of a delayed reshoring of Lincoln Nautilus production “misguided,” adding that the company is working with White House administration officials to bring back assembly to the US. Ford also cited Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick praising that decision just last month.
Finally, Ford denied that Farley had pushed a framework to facilitate Chinese JVs in the US.
Add it all up, and the back-and-forth letters paint an acrimonious relationship between CEO Jim Farley and the White House, surprising given that Farley and Trump appeared to have a decent relationship. Trump visited a Ford plant earlier this year, and Farley has appeared at various events at the Oval Office.
