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A regulation imposed by Trump’s predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden’s administration in early 2025, effectively banned all Chinese automakers from selling or building ⁠passenger vehicles in the United States. Washington, despite frequent diplomatic outreaches between Xi and Trump, has still maintained more than 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs.

Recently, a group representing nearly all major automakers urged Congress to quickly pass legislation permanently barring ⁠Chinese vehicles from the American market.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Honda, Stellantis, and others, called for passage of the ⁠bill by the end of December.

“Right now, Chinese automakers are dumping subsidized vehicles with connected software and hardware around the world,” the group’s CEO, John Bozzella, said in a letter to congressional leaders.

However, Ford, one of the prominent members of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, has increased its engagement with the Chinese automobile players, due to which it has also ended up getting blasted by the Trump administration, with the latter stating these tie-ups pose national security concerns.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, in the first week of September 2026, shot a letter to Ford CEO Jim Farley, expressing “profound concern” over the automaker’s dealings with Chinese battery maker CATL, along with automakers Geely and BYD.

He urged Ford to cut ties with major Chinese companies.

Duffy said USDOT was “deeply alarmed” by Ford’s reliance on licensed technology from ⁠CATL at its plant in Marshall, Michigan, while reminding the American automobile giant about CATL being in the Pentagon’s list of companies accused of ties to China’s military.

He also criticized the company’s decision not to move production of the Lincoln Nautilus from China to the United States until 2030, as it leaves the company reliant on Chinese manufacturing for several more years.

Ford, in a statement, hit back at Duffy’s letter, calling the document “a wrongheaded attempt to capture headlines.”

The company said, “While others continue to import Chinese batteries, Ford is investing to build cells here in America. Ford owns the plant, controls the operation, and employs the workforce.”

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The United States Congress, from its part, is pushing to tighten a ban on Chinese vehicles in the world’s largest economy.

Duffy also questioned Farley’s pitch in January to Trump administration officials at the Detroit auto show “to facilitate Chinese joint ventures on United States soil.”

“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 of Ford.

Ford’s deal with Geely ⁠faced criticism in July this year, with the chair of the US House select committee on China, Representative John Moolenaar of Michigan, terming the partnership with Geely “further enabling China’s decimation of auto markets in Europe.”

Duffy has found support among the American lawmakers for his latest action, with Republican Senator Rick Scott raising the alarm about “Ford’s risky ties to (Chinese Communist Party) companies.”

The House Select Committee on China posted on X comments from the company and media reports about ⁠Ford’s business dealings with Chinese firms under the title “This is what Ford says vs. what it does.”

Ford, on the other hand, got a vote of confidence from the White House, which posted on the popular micro-blogging platform: “Ford is a GREAT American company and has done a tremendous job of increasing investments domestically and shoring production back to the US.”

The Chinese embassy in Washington responded to Duffy’s letter, saying, “Normal business cooperation between Chinese and American enterprises should not be politicized. We urge the US side to respect the laws of the market economy and the principle of fair competition.”