Ford's Jim Farley Praises Trump For Being Easy To Work With, But Says Needs To Do More To Curtail China's Dominance: 'Car With Ten Cameras...'

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) CEO Jim Farley has shared that working with President Donald Trump has been a good experience, but there were still things that needed improvement.

Trump Has Been Great To Work With, Says Jim Farley

In an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday, the CEO hailed Trump for being "great to work with," and shared that "they [the Trump administration] always answer the phone." However, he shared that there was still some work to do, while hailing the administration's EPA changes and the relaxed Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, something which he has done in the past.

The changes have helped with Ford's valuation, Farley says, because people understood that Ford can "build more profitable vehicles now" due to regulatory boosts. He then shared that the USMCA negotiations were really important. "We need to change USMCA," Farley said, adding that tariffs were also an important topic.

Canada and the U.S. are all set to begin talks over the USMCA or the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement later this month, which could lead to renegotiations between the countries. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had earlier touted the agreement as key to maintaining the U.S. auto industry’s competitiveness.

China's Rising Dominance

The CEO also shared his concerns about Chinese automakers rapidly expanding operations in Europe, sharing that the companies held "almost 10%" market share in the region, which was "even higher" for EVs. Chinese automakers, led by BYD Co. Ltd. (OTC:BYDDY) (OTC:BYDDF), have consistently recorded growing sales in the European market.

He then asked how the country could handle a "car with ten cameras that can drive itself" if the authorities were "scared of a balloon," referring to the Chinese Spy Balloon controversy that happened a few years ago. Farley added that if non-Chinese automakers were to deploy similar technology, "it has to be approved by their [Chinese] Defense Department."

Farley also added that Trump had suggested that Chinese automakers be let into the U.S. market, but the CEO said that the authorities, alongside the automakers, need to work through" those decisions.

Interestingly, Chinese automaker Zeekr, backed by Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. (OTC:GELYF) (OTC:GELHY), could be mulling a U.S. debut in the next 2-3 years. Zeekr also built a minivan-styled Robotaxi in collaboration with Alphabet Inc.-backed (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) Waymo, which debuted at the CES 2026 event.

According to Benzinga Edge Rankings, Ford offers excellent Value and a favorable price trend in the Short, Medium, and Long term.

Price Action: F gained 0.14% to $13.83 during Pre-market trading on Friday.

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