NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Tuesday 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 “challenges the spirit of American national and economic security and supply-chain independence policies”.

Duffy also criticised 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.

“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 said.

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.

FARLEY… called Duffy’s letter a wrongheaded attempt to capture headlines (Photo: AFP)

“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.”

Ford also pointed to recent praise of its supply chain decisions from others in the Trump Administration.

An August 31 White House press release touting Trump’s efforts to “deliver manufacturing renaissance to Michigan” pointed to Ford’s US$3 billion investment in the Marshall plant, which will create 1,700 new jobs. The press release was timed with a visit by Vice-President JD Vance to Michigan.

Ford also cited comments from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Fox Business in August praising the automaker. “Ford is going to rock us with bringing manufacturing back to America,” Lutnick said.