By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, Sept 8 (Reuters) – The Trump administration on Tuesday blasted Ford Motor’s business partnerships with Chinese companies, saying they pose deep national security concerns.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in a letter to Ford CEO Jim Farley sent on Tuesday said the automaker’s dealings with Chinese battery maker CATL and Chinese automakers Geely and BYD raised “profound concern.”
Ford did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Duffy said USDOT was “deeply alarmed” by Ford’s reliance on licensed technology from Chinese battery manufacturer CATL at its plant in Marshall, Michigan.
He also said Ford’s joint venture with Geely in Spain “helps strategic adversaries secure a vital foothold in Western markets and the company’s ongoing talks with BYD for hybrid vehicle components could lead to further embedding subsidized foreign technology into Ford’s core supply chains.”
Duffy added Ford’s decision not to move production of the Lincoln Nautilus from China to the United States until 2030 “leaves an unacceptable, multi-year window of reliance on Chinese manufacturing.”
(Reporting by David Shepardson)
Comments