Ford: Duffy criticism over deals with China ‘wrongheaded attempt to capture headlines’

Ford Motor Company on Tuesday accused Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy of spreading inaccurate information to drum up public scrutiny after Duffy criticized the automaker’s business ties with China.

In a letter to the auto company’s chief executive, Jim Farley, Duffy expressed “ profound concern ” with Ford’s “reliance on technologies of foreign adversaries.”

“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,” Duffy wrote.

A Ford spokesperson pushed back on the secretary’s claims, calling the letter a “wrongheaded attempt to capture headlines” in a Tuesday statement shared with The Hill’s broadcast partner, NewsNation.

“Ford is the most American automaker,” the spokesperson said. “We produce more vehicles in the U.S., employ more hourly manufacturing workers and export more vehicles from the U.S. than any other automaker.”

“While our crosstown rivals and foreign-based competitors increasingly rely on foreign-made vehicles from Japan, Mexico and Korea, Ford is doubling down on America,” they continued.

In his letter to Farley last week, Duffy called on Ford to prioritize American workers and supply chains, while sounding an alarm about their reliance on technology from Amperex Technology Co., a Chinese battery manufacturer included on the Defense Department’s list of banned companies .

The Ford company spokesperson refuted this concern, describing the automaker’s ties to Amperex as a “limited technology-licensing and services agreement, not a joint venture or foreign-owned manufacturing operation.”

“Ford must demonstrate a level of corporate citizenship that prioritizes the long-term resilience and technological sovereignty of the United States automotive ecosystem over short-term arrangements or questionable foreign alliances,” the Duffy wrote.

“Iconic American companies, like Ford, are also expected to out-innovate competitors,” the secretary continued. “To that end, they need to chart clear paths to technological self-reliance.”

The Ford spokesperson told NewsNation in a statement that the secretary’s letter “contains factual errors” related to Duffy’s claims that the company delayed moving production of its Lincoln model to the U.S.

“Ford supports the Trump administration’s vision for advancing American innovation and manufacturing,” the Ford spokesperson said. “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.”

The Hill has reached out to the Transportation Department for comment.