Ford is reeling.
The political press corps is struggling to find answers.
And corporate executives are watching as a company just praised for its business practices by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick is the focus of scathing international attention without warning — after U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy “blasts” Ford Motor Co. for its “embrace of Chinese technology and manufacturing due to national security concerns.”
In a letter released to the press on Tuesday, Sept. 8, Duffy criticized the 123-year-old automaker, saying its partnerships with a foreign adversary are “not a sustainable strategy for the United States” and Ford’s “recent strategic decisions paint a troubling picture of a foundational American brand.”
His letter created headlines in The Detroit News, The Detroit Free Press, Fox Business, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, CNBC, Al Jazeera, CNN and others.
Ford was taking calls until past 11 p.m. on Tuesday.
Yet the Secretary of Transportation has zero authority or involvement with national security, global supply chain, foreign policy, trade, energy storage or labor relations. Those issues are managed by other cabinet positions.
Sean Duffy’s role includes oversight of the nation’s transportation infrastructure and challenges that include air traffic controller shortages and airline crashes. He runs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which chronicles auto recalls and sets and enforces safety standards in commercial trucking.
Why this letter? And why now?
Ford reached out for answers from the Trump Administration on Tuesday afternoon and all day Wednesday. So did reporters.
“Secretary Duffy’s letter is political grandstanding and directly contradicts President Trump and Secretary Lutnick’s consistent praise of Ford as a model of American manufacturing. We will put our commitment to American jobs, investment and innovation against any company in the world, bar none,” Mark Truby, Ford chief communications officer, told Shifting Gears early Wednesday afternoon. “Our reputation as the most iconic company in America, and the largest and most committed U.S. auto producer, is hard earned and very meaningful to us. So it is important to set the record straight.”
Ford CEO Jim Farley told the Wall Street Journal in an exclusive interview on Wednesday that Duffy had “basic misunderstandings, mistruths” in his letter “that could be cleared up in a simple five-minute call.”
By 4:54 p.m. on Wednesday, The White House posted on X through its @rapidresponse47 account, “@Ford is a GREAT American company and has done a tremendous job on increasing investments domestically and shoring production back to the U.S.”
The verified account on the site formerly known as Twitter has 2.2 million followers and describes its role as “Official White House Rapid Response account. Supporting President Trump’s America First agenda and holding the Fake News accountable. MAGA!” The site links directly to a White House website.
Reached at 5:55 p.m., Truby declined to comment on the praise.
How the Duffy attack unfolded
Here’s what happened:
The U.S. Department of Transportation provided a copy of the letter to select members of the press on Tuesday under embargo. Those reporters agreed not to release anything until after a specific time provided. Different media outlets released stories at different times in the afternoon, evening and then on Wednesday.
The letter, signed by Sean Duffy, was addressed to Ford CEO Jim Farley at the corporate headquarters in Dearborn, and dated Friday, Sept. 3, 2026. The (DOT) website indicates the document was uploaded on Tuesday, September 8.
A DOT briefing post on Tuesday said Duffy “today warned Ford Motor Company against its embrace of Chinese technology and manufacturing due to national security concerns.” He expressed concern about “skilled American workers who suffer” under Ford policies. (The company employs the most hourly UAW members in the auto industry.)
The government website says, “Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy Urges Ford to Cut Ties to China and Prioritize Manufacturing in America”
Ford learned of the letter from reporters on deadline.
Ford called around Washington, D.C., on Tuesday and Wednesday, trying to figure out what instigated the action and why it came from Duffy.
Shifting Gears emailed the U.S. DOT communications office seeking clarification about the date discrepancy and why Duffy would weigh into supply chain and global business issues.
His critical letter and concerns about Ford remained posted on the government website as of 5:47 p.m. Wednesday.
Chinese ties — to Tesla and GM?
In his letter, Duffy goes hard at Ford on “reliance of licensed technology from the Chinese manufacturer CATL at the operational BlueOval Battery Park facility in Marshall, Michigan.”
“CATL” refers to the Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited, a battery manufacturer and tech company that manufactures lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems, plus battery management systems. It had a global market share of 36.8% in 2023, according to CNEVpost.com
“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 in his letter, excerpted on the DOT briefing page in italics. “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.”
But Ford is one of many global automakers working with the Chinese battery tech company, and not the only automaker in the U.S.
Between January and June of this year, CATL (pronounced “cattle”) expanded its supplies to Tesla, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, and Kia, according to sneresearch.com, an energy industry research firm.
Tesla, headquartered in Austin, Texas, is led by CEO Elon Musk. He has served as an adviser and supporter of President Trump.
In addition to other global automakers, CATL has supplied GM and Hyundai for its electric vehicles, according to an article on Sept. 8, 2026 written by Power Technology and distributed by Yahoo! finance.
General Motors, headquartered in Detroit, is led by CEO Mary Barra, who hosted President Trump and Secretary Duffy at the Milford Proving Ground in Michigan, in July.
GM has made similar claims v Ford
If elements of the Duffy letter sound familiar, it’s because they mirror concerns voiced by Barra and her team to Congress in 2023, as reported by Business Insider. GM warned that Ford’s use of the technology could pave the way for China to dominate U.S. car manufacturing, the Wall Street Journal reported then.
Ford has maintained that licensing technology and building in the U.S. gives the company a competitive advantage against China.
Ford Authority ran this headline a year ago: “Bill Ford Says GM Lobbying To Kill EV Battery Plant In Michigan.”
Crain’s Detroit Business and Ford Authority reported that GM was behind lobbying efforts targeting licensing agreements like the deal between Ford and CATL. “We do know that others in our industry are trying to submarine it to hurt us,” said Bill Ford, board chair of the company his great-grandfather founded. “That’s just sour grapes, frankly. To GM, it’s nothing personal; just a bid to shore up its own business strategies.”
Thing is, CATL battery and energy tech isn’t just connected to the auto industry.
It’s a key player in the massive Gemini Solar + Storage clean energy facility in the Mojave Deserve about 30 miles northeast of Las Vegas that reached full operation in 2024. The multi-billion dollar project on land owned by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in Clark County generates enough clean, reliable energy to power approximately 10% percent of Nevada’s peak power demand.
On the other side of the U.S., Rhode Island began using CATL technology in 2022 to store excess power and provide reliable power to 5,000 consumers when the grid is stressed in the City of Pascoag.
“This is efficient, saves customers money, and it’s a really good new innovative technology,” Mike Kirkwood, general manager of the Pascoag Utility District, told WJAR-TV. "This is the coming trend and so you’re going to see this all throughout New England.”
Drama after Duffy’s controversial road trip
If anything, the Ford letter diverted attention from Duffy’s personal controversy.
It comes one month after Duffy launched his limited reality TV series centered around himself, his wife and nine (of their 11 children) driving across the country over seven months.
The delayed project was supposed to begin airing in June and inspire summer travel. Many children have begun school by now. Critics complain that while Duffy’s travels had corporate sponsors that American families facing higher gas prices did not.
At one point, Sean Duffy’s wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy, “excitedly contrasted the family atmosphere of a road trip to what she described as the ‘Pornhub world,’ of normal life,” reported The American Prospect.
In a withering review, the L.A. Times said, “The ‘Great American Road Trip’ is Trump-era spectacle, wrapped in a reality show and paid for by organizations Duffy’s department is meant to oversee,”
The two primary sponsors, Boeing and Toyota, donated $1 million apiece to the Great American Road Trip Inc. effort, Forbes reported.
Boeing, which has battled fatal crashes and quality control and manufacturing issues, is regulated by Duffy’s agency. Lawmakers have expressed concern about potential conflicts of interest, which Duffy has dismissed as unfounded.
In July 2026, Boeing saw restored its authority to issue its own airworthiness certificates, according to Reuters. “The FAA said the ‘decision follows months of thorough data and safety review demonstrating consistent production quality …”
Questions for GM (and responses)
Industry observers have been trying to figure out the mystery behind this random attack on Ford and some wondered if Ford’s crosstown rival was somehow involved.
When Shifting Gears asked GM on Wednesday if the company donated any money to the Great American Road Trip project, GM spokeswoman Lisa Suchland said no.
Shifting Gears asked if the automaker gave money to the Department of Transportation to be featured as a partner of the Explorer250 app touted by the Department of Transportation and cited on the government website, and Suchland said no money exchanged hands.
“We partnered on the app,” she said. “GM’s software and services team built and designed the app, with input and collaboration from the Department of Transportation and Brand USA and powered by HERE Technologies. GM provides technical support and bug fixes.”
GM posted a statement from Duffy on its website: “In partnership with GM, I’m thrilled to launch Explore250 to encourage every American to plan an unforgettable journey and celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday. This innovative app will help families map out their routes ...”
Shifting Gears told GM that people wondered if the company was behind the Duffy letter to Ford, noting that industry observers noticed similarities between his talking points and those of GM. Shifting Gears requested comment but GM has not yet responded.
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A fascinating story that every other media outlet has covered only in fragments. Phoebe provides the history, context, and deep insight needed to understand how it unfolded—and how it is now unraveling. Ignorance, self-defeating behavior, pay-for-play, projection—it’s all there. The only winner in all this is China. It would be highly amusing, except that this is our government, we’re paying for it, and we’re suffering the consequences.
Phoebe is simply amazing. This story wasn't on my radar. She has the smarts, the connections, and the guts to tell these important stories like no one else can. Please share and support her work.