Ford, US transportation chief spar over company's China deals

TDT | New York

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy slammed Ford Motor Company over its reliance on Chinese technology, accusations that the Detroit-based automaker dismissed as "wrongheaded."

In a letter to Ford chief executive Jim Farley published on the agency's website, Duffy said the company's "recent strategic decisions paint a troubling picture of a foundational American brand actively intertwining its future with Chinese state-backed enterprises."

The Department of Transportation (DOT) is "alarmed" by Ford's use of technology from Chinese battery manufacturer CATL at its BlueOval Battery Park facility in Marshall, Michigan, Duffy said, adding that the use of Chinese knowhow "subverts the spirit of American national and economic security and supply-chain independence policies."

Duffy also criticized other Ford collaborations with Chinese companies, such as a joint-venture with China's Geely in Spain and the company's "delaying" move to wait until 2030 to shift manufacturing of Lincoln models from China back to the United States.

But Ford — which stresses in its marketing that it is number one among automakers in US vehicle assembly — said Duffy's broadside "contains factual errors" and misstated the company's operations.

"Had Secretary Duffy reached out before issuing his letter to the press, we would have been happy to share more details about Ford's US commitment," the company said, calling the letter "a wrongheaded attempt to capture headlines."

Ford's use of CATL constitutes "a limited technology-licensing and services agreement, not a joint venture or foreign-owned manufacturing operation," the company said. "Ford owns the plant, controls the operation and employs the workforce."