Did General Motors Really Power The Trump Admin's Attack On Ford?

Ford is firing back after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy publicly called out the automaker's commitment to American manufacturing.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) distributed an open letter to media outlets criticizing Ford's use of battery technology licensed from Chinese firm CATL at its BlueOval Battery Park facility in Marshall, Michigan. According to a statement from the automaker, Ford learned of the letter through media inquiries before ever receiving direct communication from the agency.

Ford issued a statement dismissing the letter as factually incorrect while pointing to its domestic manufacturing presence. "Secretary Duffy’s letter is a wrongheaded attempt to capture headlines at the expense of a company that has done more for American manufacturing than virtually any other in the nation’s history."

Under the Marshall arrangement, Ford wholly owns and operates the battery plant through a subsidiary, licensing intellectual property and equipment from CATL rather than a joint equity structure with China. Ford rightly points out that communications from the White House just last week had actually praised the project for the manufacturing investments it brought to Michigan.

By yesterday evening, the White House even posted on X, saying “Ford is a GREAT American company and has done a tremendous job on increasing investments domestically and shoring production back to the U.S.”

It's all very confusing, and seemingly doesn't make a lot of sense considering Duffy's role as head of the Department of Transportation is focused on transportation infrastructure, along with overseeing the FAA and NHTSA. Under the Trump admin the DOT's mission is: "Advance safety. Move people and goods. Build big and beautiful infrastructure."

You'll notice issues like national security, foreign policy, trade, or labor relations are not found in the job description. Duffy's attack doesn't make a lot of sense until you follow the money. Independent reporting from Eric Starkman and Phoebe Wall Howard points the finger at crosstown rival General Motors as the driving force behind the consternation.

General Motors CEO Mary Barra lobbied congressional lawmakers in 2023 to warn that licensing arrangements with Chinese battery suppliers could open the door for Chinese dominance over the U.S. automotive supply chain. Reports from Crain’s Detroit Business confirmed that GM was among the primary corporate entities leading lobbying efforts against the facility's regulatory approvals.

According to research presented by Phoebe Wall Howard's Shifting Gears newsletter, there is a stark divergence in spending on federal lobbying by the two American automakers during the first quarter of 2026. GM directed $11.4 million toward efforts compared to Ford's $696,000. In a typical year, GM usually out-lobbies Ford by about 3 to 1.

Additionally, GM collaborated with the Transportation Department on software development for the agency's official Explore250 road-trip navigation app. Some of the talking points in Duffy's letter seem to mirror those presented by GM to Congress. Howard also confirmed that GM's own software team built, designed, and provides technical support for the app.

GM hosted the President and the Transportation Secretary at the Milford Proving Grounds in Detroit earlier this summer. “It’s amazing what tariffs will do for General Motors, and what the election has done,” Trump said during a tour of the facility with Barra and company President Mark Reuss.

"We’ve been very good to General Motors. The rest of the world doesn’t love me, but that’s OK. It’s called America first.”

On the independent Cars.com American-Made Index, Ford landed four models inside the top 15, while GM's highest-ranking vehicle, the GMC Canyon, placed 25th.

GM heavily relies on a joint venture with state-owned Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) to build vehicles in China. Under this alliance, SAIC-GM engineers and manufactures vehicles in China that are sold across Latin America under Chevrolet and Buick nameplates. It was announced recently that GM and SAIC-GM-Wuling plan to shift vehicle assembly directly to GM’s Mexican manufacturing complex in order to circumvent the 50 percent tariff on Chinese-built imports enacted by Mexico.

In fact, a report from Reuters indicated GM will adopt the "Xiao Yao" architecture, a sophisticated high-voltage platform developed at the SAIC-GM PATAC (Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center) engineering facility in Shanghai for it's next-generation of electric vehicles built in Mexico for the North American market. This would be the first time a Chinese-developed platform is used to underpin a GM vehicle sold to Americans.

GM builds the Chevrolet Equinox EV, Chevrolet Blazer EV, and the Cadillac Optiq at the Ramos Arizpe manufacturing plant in Coahuila, Mexico. If the report turns out to be true, it would sidestep the punishing 100 percent tariff that America applies to Chinese-built electric vehicles.

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