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A top US official has sent Ford CEO Jim Farley a letter accusing the automaker of intertwining its future with Chinese state-backed companies.

Getting into it: The letter, written by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, claims the company has made a series of decisions that deepen its dependence on China at the expense of American workers. It lists four specific complaints:

1. Ford uses licensed battery technology from Chinese manufacturer CATL at its BlueOval Battery Park in Marshall, Michigan, and CATL sits on the Pentagon’s list of companies accused of ties to China’s military.
2. Ford has a joint venture with Geely to build low- and zero-emission vehicles at its Valencia, Spain plant.
3. Ford has reportedly been in talks with BYD over hybrid components.
4. Ford does not plan to move production of the Lincoln Nautilus from China to the US until 2030.

Duffy wrote, “The Company’s recent strategic decisions paint a troubling picture of a foundational American brand actively intertwining its future with Chinese state-backed enterprises.” He called the Geely deal something that “helps strategic adversaries secure a vital foothold in Western markets,” said the 2030 reshoring timeline “leaves an unacceptable, multi-year window of reliance on Chinese manufacturing,” and added that “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 also raised Farley’s appearance at the Detroit Auto Show in January, where he says the CEO pitched administration officials on a setup that would let Chinese carmakers build here through joint ventures.

Ford disputed nearly all of it. “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,” the company said. “While our crosstown rivals and foreign-based competitors increasingly rely on importing foreign-made vehicles from Japan, Mexico and Korea, Ford is doubling down on America.”

They also described the CATL arrangement as “a limited technology-licensing and services agreement, not a joint venture or foreign-owned manufacturing operation,” said “Ford owns the plant, controls the operation and employs the workforce,” and put the Marshall facility at 1,700 new American jobs.