US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has urged Ford to end its commercial ties with Chinese companies CATL and Geely, including a joint venture at Ford's Valencia plant in Spain. In a letter dated Sept. 8 to Ford Chief Executive Jim Farley, Duffy cited what he described as profound concern over a CATL battery licence in Michigan, a delay in moving Lincoln production out of China, and the Ford-Geely collaboration in Spain.
Ford rejected the criticism, calling the move "a wrongheaded attempt to capture headlines." The letter did not allege that Ford had broken any law. Duffy wrote: "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."
The dispute comes as the European Union considers an Industrial Accelerator Act that would tighten rules on foreign investment in the bloc. Under the draft framework, investors from countries that hold 40% of a global market would be required to enter through a joint venture with an EU entity, with their stake capped at 49% and technology transfer to European partners.
European Parliament rapporteurs Christophe Grudler, Pierre Jouvet and Anna Cavazzini proposed additional conditions, including a minimum of 60% EU workers, reinvestment of 1% of annual revenue in European research, and sourcing of 30% of inputs within the bloc. They also proposed a €50 million revenue threshold to trigger the rules, compared with a €100 million threshold in the European Commission's proposal.
Ford and Geely already meet two of the anticipated EU tests: the joint-venture structure and technology transfer. The two companies agreed in July to develop four models together at Ford's Valencia plant, with production set to begin in 2028. Ford holds 66% of the venture, while Geely holds 34%.
The EU debate is framed by concerns that previous Chinese-European battery partnerships received substantial state support without comparable technology-transfer obligations. Transport and Environment said €900 million in state aid was provided for battery plants in Hungary and Poland, with about €300 million allocated to a CATL venture with Stellantis in Spain.
