Ford Motor is facing growing criticism from Republican lawmakers and members of the Trump administration over its business relationships with Chinese companies, turning the automaker’s global strategy into a new political dispute in Washington. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has urged Ford CEO Jim Farley to reduce the company’s reliance on Chinese technology and manufacturing, while several Republican lawmakers have backed his concerns.
Ford, however, argues that its investments in the United States demonstrate a strong commitment to domestic manufacturing and that its Chinese partnerships are being mischaracterized. The dispute highlights the increasingly difficult balance American automakers face between national security concerns, global supply chains and the need to remain competitive in emerging technologies.
Ford’s China Ties Draw Washington Scrutiny
At the center of the controversy is Ford’s relationship with Chinese battery manufacturer CATL. Ford is using CATL licensed technology at its BlueOval Battery Park Michigan facility in Marshall, where the company is producing lithium iron phosphate batteries. Duffy has raised national security concerns about the arrangement, pointing to CATL’s inclusion on a U.S. government list of companies accused of links to China’s military.
Ford has responded that it owns the Michigan facility, controls its operations and employs the workforce, making the project an important part of its effort to expand battery production inside the United States. The company maintains that the facility represents a significant domestic investment despite its use of licensed Chinese technology.
The dispute also extends beyond batteries. Duffy criticized Ford’s cooperation with Chinese automaker Geely, including a partnership involving production at Ford’s Valencia factory in Spain. The two companies plan to work together on low and zero emission vehicles for European markets.
Ford has also faced scrutiny over its continued production of the Lincoln Nautilus in China, although the company plans to bring that production back to the United States in 2030. Duffy argues that maintaining Chinese production until then leaves an American automaker dependent on Chinese manufacturing for several more years.
Republican lawmakers have increasingly joined the criticism. Senator Rick Scott praised Duffy for raising concerns about Ford’s connections to Chinese companies, while Representative John Moolenaar, chairman of the House Select Committee on China, argued that Ford should work more closely with U.S. allies instead of companies from a strategic competitor.
The committee has already questioned Ford about its battery related licensing and procurement arrangements with Chinese companies, showing that congressional scrutiny of the issue has been building for months. The growing political attention could put additional pressure on Ford to explain how it manages partnerships involving Chinese technology and manufacturing.
Ford Defends U.S. Investments Amid Wider China Debate
Ford has strongly rejected the criticism, describing Duffy’s letter as an attempt to generate headlines rather than a fair assessment of the company’s strategy. The automaker points to its expanding U.S. investments and says it is bringing battery production and other manufacturing activities back to America.
The White House has also publicly defended Ford, praising the company for increasing domestic investment and strengthening production in the United States. That response has created an unusual split within the administration, with one senior official attacking Ford’s China ties while the White House highlights the company as an example of domestic industrial investment.
The disagreement reflects a larger challenge facing the American auto industry. Chinese companies have become major players in electric vehicles and battery technology, giving U.S. automakers a difficult choice between reducing dependence on Chinese suppliers and maintaining access to technologies that can help them compete globally.
Ford has simultaneously warned about the threat posed by Chinese automakers entering the American market while maintaining commercial relationships with Chinese companies overseas. That tension has become increasingly difficult to separate from the broader U.S.-China economic and national security rivalry.
The political pressure comes as Washington considers tougher restrictions on Chinese vehicles and technology. Automakers are lobbying Congress over proposed measures aimed at preventing Chinese vehicle manufacturers from gaining a foothold in the U.S. market. At the same time, American companies continue to depend on international supply chains, making a complete separation from Chinese technology and manufacturing considerably more complicated than political rhetoric might suggest.
For Ford, the controversy highlights the difficult balance between national security concerns, domestic manufacturing and global competitiveness. The company wants to expand production in the United States while still using international partnerships to develop technologies and compete abroad.
As tensions between Washington and Beijing continue, those relationships are likely to face greater scrutiny. The Ford China ties dispute could therefore become part of a much broader debate over how American manufacturers should operate in an increasingly divided global economy and how far the United States should go in reducing its dependence on Chinese technology and supply chains.
