Sean Duffy fired a pointed letter at Ford's CEO accusing the automaker of entangling its future with Chinese enterprises, and warning that its choices put American security and jobs at risk.
The Transportation Secretary told Ford CEO Jim Farley that the Department of Transportation has "profound concern" over the company's strategic direction, citing a pattern of deals that bind one of America's oldest automakers to firms with direct links to Beijing. FOX Business obtained the letter, which was sent Tuesday and lays out a bill of particulars against Ford's China exposure.
Duffy pointed to four specific business decisions: Ford's use of licensed battery technology from Chinese manufacturer CATL at its BlueOval Battery Park in Marshall, Michigan; a joint venture with Chinese-owned Geely in Spain; reported discussions with Chinese automaker BYD over hybrid vehicle components; and delayed plans to bring Lincoln models like the Nautilus back to American production lines, delays that could stretch to 2030.
Taken together, Duffy wrote, Ford's recent moves "paint a troubling picture of a foundational American brand actively intertwining its future with Chinese state-backed enterprises."
The letter did not stop at listing business relationships. Duffy argued that Chinese law can compel companies operating within its orbit to hand over proprietary and customer data to the government, a direct national security threat when the company in question builds vehicles driven by millions of Americans.
Duffy wrote bluntly in the letter:
"When a company intentionally chooses to deepen operational dependencies on strategic competitors, it fails to act as the reliable partner the American public and this DOT require."
He also pushed Ford to develop its own technology rather than leasing it from competitors backed by a foreign government. "Iconic American companies, like Ford, are also expected to out-innovate competitors," Duffy wrote. "To that end, they need to chart clear paths to technological self-reliance."
The CATL relationship drew particular scrutiny. Just The News reported that CATL appears on the Department of Defense's list of banned companies, a detail that sharpens the question of why Ford chose that firm for its Michigan battery plant.
Duffy's letter lands on top of an existing congressional probe. Twenty-six House Republicans on the Energy and Commerce Committee previously sent their own letter to Farley raising national security concerns about the Ford-CATL partnership, which involves a $3.5 billion battery plant. The lawmakers demanded full documentation of the licensing agreement and all communications between Ford and government officials about the deal, Fox News reported.
CATL's founder and CEO, Zeng Yuqun, is a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a body described in a U.S. government report as a "critical coordinating body" led by the Chinese Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee. Michael Sobolik of the American Foreign Policy Council warned that "Ford should know that it is opening itself up to quiet manipulation and the malign influence of the CCP by partnering with an organization run by a CPPCC member."
Republican lawmakers also obtained information suggesting a significant number of jobs at the Michigan facility may go to Chinese citizens, an allegation Ford has denied.
Ford did not take the criticism quietly. The company issued a statement calling Duffy's letter:
"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 described its CATL arrangement as "a limited technology-licensing and services agreement, not a joint venture or foreign-owned manufacturing operation." The company said its BlueOval Battery Park facility in Marshall is owned and operated entirely by Ford, represents billions of dollars in investment, and is expected to create roughly 1,700 American jobs.
Ford also claimed Duffy's letter contained factual errors, though the company did not specify which assertions it considered inaccurate. And it took a swipe at the Secretary's approach.
"Ford supports the Trump administration's vision for advancing American innovation and manufacturing. Had Secretary Duffy reached out before issuing his letter to the press, we would have been happy to share more details about Ford's U.S. commitment."
Ford pointed out that the White House itself recently highlighted the Marshall battery project in a press release, and that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick praised Ford's decision to expand Lincoln production in the United States. The implication was clear: one arm of the administration was celebrating the same investments another arm was attacking.
Duffy's confrontation with Ford fits inside a broader push in Washington to wall off the American auto industry from Chinese influence. The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee approved bipartisan legislation in July that would ban the import, sale, and operation of vehicles manufactured by companies designated as foreign entities of concern, a category that includes firms based in China. The measure would also prohibit certain connected-vehicle technologies developed by those countries.
Separately, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, the industry's main trade group, urged congressional leaders in September to enact a permanent ban on Chinese-made vehicles in the United States. When the industry's own lobby is calling for a ban on Chinese cars, the political ground beneath Ford's China partnerships grows less stable by the month.
Ford's stock reflected the tension. Shares of the automaker traded at $14.00, down $0.62, a decline of more than four percent.
Several gaps remain. Ford says Duffy's letter contains factual errors but has not identified them publicly. Duffy has not indicated whether the Department of Transportation will follow the letter with any formal regulatory or enforcement action. Jim Farley himself has not spoken publicly about the letter. And no one in the administration has addressed the tension between the White House praising the Marshall battery plant and the Transportation Secretary criticizing the Chinese technology inside it.
The nature of Ford's reported discussions with BYD over hybrid components also remains murky, neither the scope of those talks nor their current status has been disclosed.
Ford built its reputation on the promise that an American company could make things in America for Americans. When the federal government has to send a letter reminding you of that, the brand has drifted a long way from the assembly line in Dearborn.
