President Trump’s Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy last week sent a letter to Ford CEO Jim Farley and voiced his “profound concern” about the American auto company’s dealings with Chinese battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL), and automakers Geely and BYD.
In the letter, which was made public on Tuesday, Duffy urged Ford to cut ties with the Chinese companies.
Duffy wrote, “Iconic American companies, like Ford, are also expected to out-innovate competitors. To that end, they need to chart clear paths to technological self-reliance.”
[NOTE: At its BlueOval Battery Park facility in Marshall, Michigan, Ford uses licensed technology from CATL, which is on the Defense Department’s list of companies with ties to China’s military.]
On Tuesday, Farley responded to Duffy’s letter by telling The Wall Street Journal, “These are basic misunderstandings, mistruths, whatever words you want to use.” Ford described Duffy’s letter as “a wrongheaded attempt to capture headlines.”
Reuters reporter David Shepardson shared the statement from Ford below.
Lengthy response from @Ford to @SecDuffy: “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” https://t.co/zuIKHSrpvA pic.twitter.com/xHPP2rbV5b
— David Shepardson (@davidshepardson) September 8, 2026
Ford said that “while others continue to import Chinese batteries, Ford is investing to build batteries here in America” and added that “Ford owns the plant, controls the operation and employs the workforce.”
Farley also noted that he was surprised Duffy aired his concerns publicly. Farley said of the Trump administration, “We have great relationships with them that are informal where we can call each other, in either direction. And we’ve never been surprised like this.”