Ford is in talks to bring a major Chinese carmaker’s technology to the United States, and President Donald Trump could be open to the plan.
The discussions involve China‘s second-largest car manufacturer, Geely, and have been ongoing for more than a year, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Chinese electric cars have become increasingly popular around the world thanks to their high tech and relatively low cost.
But US carmakers have said they are struggling to compete, noting how China’s state subsidies back their foreign rivals.
Earlier this year, Trump appeared to indicate that he might be open to Chinese cars in the US as long as they were built in the country and by American workers.
‘If they want to come in and build the plant and hire you and hire your friends and your neighbors, that’s great,’ Trump told the Detroit Economic Club on January 13. ‘I love that.’
He added: ‘Let China come in, let Japan come in. They are and they’ll be building plants, but they’re using our labor.’
Trump, who was speaking about his tariffs, also said he was ‘standing up for the American auto worker like no president has ever stood up before.’
In January, President Donald Trump seemed to indicate that he might be open to Chinese cars if they were built in the United States by American workers
Geely and Ford are reportedly in discussions to bring the Chinese carmaker’s technology stateside. Picture of a Geely car
Ford said that their ‘commitment to a level playing field and safeguarding our home market remains absolute’
In wake of the report, Ford told the Wall Street Journal that their ‘commitment to a level playing field and safeguarding our home market remains absolute.’
A spokesperson for Geely said that the Chinese carmaker kept ‘an open mind when it comes to exploring cooperative opportunities.’
‘Engaging in constructive industry dialogue is part of how we operate, but we do not comment on rumors or speculations regarding potential partnerships,’ Geely told the outlet.
Ford CEO Jim Farley sounded the alarms on the potential ‘economic impact’ of allowing Chinese carmakers into the US earlier this month.
‘They have enough capacity in China to cover all of the manufacturing and all of the vehicle sales in the US,’ Farley told Fox and Friends on April 13.
‘Manufacturing is the heart and soul of our country, and for us to lose that to those exports would be devastating for our country,’ he added.
Farley also voiced concerns about how China could ‘collect a lot of data’ and said ‘there is no way this is a fair fight.’
Trump’s US trade representative, Jamieson Greer, previously suggested that ‘natural market forces’ would prevent Chinese cars from entering the US market.
Greer pointed to how Joe Biden had effectively banned all Chinese vehicles from the US as one of his final acts in office.
The Biden administration also implemented a 100 percent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles.
‘Those rules are effective,’ Greer said, according to the Detroit News.
Geely said it was keeping ‘an open mind when it comes to exploring cooperative opportunities.’ Picture of a Geely Galaxy Light 2nd Generation concept car
Ford CEO Jim Farley, pictured next to Trump, said earlier this month that China had enough capacity to ‘cover all of the manufacturing and all of the vehicle sales’ in the US
Geely, the second biggest carmaker in China, has reportedly been looking to expand into the American market for more than a year
Geely’s global communications chief, Ash Sutcliffe, said in January that it was a question of ‘when and where will we go to the [US],’ according to the Wall Street Journal.
However, discussions have reportedly stalled recently with a greater focus on Europe before potential expansion into America.
The Chinese carmaker already has a presence in the US, as it is the majority owner of Swedish brands Volvo and Polestar, which sell cars stateside.
Volvo already has a factory about 35 miles northwest of Charleston, South Carolina, which the carmaker said currently produces about 150,000 cars per year.
Waymo, the Silicon Valley robotaxi company originally known as the Google self-driving car project, also has links to the Chinese brand.
In 2021, Waymo announced that its cars would be designed and developed by Geely’s electric brand, Zeekr.
The vehicles would be built in Sweden, then delivered to the US by Waymo for the self-driving to be fully integrated, according to a press release at the time.
This January, Waymo announced that it would be rebranding the Chinese-branded robotaxi to instead be named Ojai – pronounced ‘oh, hi.’
That move was made because Americans were not familiar with Zeekr, Waymo told TechCrunch.
Chuck Schumer, of New York, was one of three Democratic senators to write Trump a letter urging him to ‘stop Chinese automakers from jeopardizing American workers’
Geely is the majority owner of Swedish brand Volvo, which has a factory (pictured) about 35 miles from Charleston, South Carolina
Earlier this month, three Democratic senators – Chuck Schumer of New York, Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin – demanded that Trump ‘stop Chinese automakers from jeopardizing American workers and risking our national security.’
The lawmakers specifically pointed to Trump’s comment in January at the Detroit Economic Club when he said, ‘Let China come in,’ though they did not include the rest of his remarks.
Schumer, Slotkin and Baldwin added that allowing Chinese automakers into the US would ‘only expedite Beijing’s path to global auto industry dominance, while American manufacturing and our workers will pay the price.’
‘While a new plant opened by a Chinese automaker in the United States may create some assembly and temporary construction jobs, that small number of jobs will not make up for the lasting job loss,’ the letter read.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the White House, Ford and Geely for comment.
