Farley said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Thursday the White House has been “great” to work with, but has several asks for how the administration can improve trade to bolster U.S. automakers.

“They always answer the phone,” Farley said. “But there is a long list of things we got to work through.”

Trump visited Ford’s Dearborn, Mich., facility on Tuesday, touring production of the F-150 truck factory, in an effort to show support for U.S. manufacturing amid growing concerns of a weak labor market. Even as American carmakers have poured billions of dollars into reshoring jobs and expanding U.S. production, domestic manufacturing jobs have continued to dwindle. Ford is making a $19.5 billion pivot away from some larger electric vehicle production in favor of less expensive and more hybrid models as it navigates lower EV demand and consumers’ affordability concerns. The move follows Trump’s killing an EV tax credit which went into effect at the end of September.

Addressing threats from Chinese rivals

The administration has made an effort to address some of these concerns, according to Farley. He praised Trump’s decision to rollback fuel economy standards and ease some auto tariffs, but said his automaker continues to be impacted by the levies—particularly those affecting aluminum, a common material in auto manufacturing. In February 2025, Farley said the tariffs would cost Ford billions of dollars, all the while serving as a “bonanza” for Asian auto manufacturing competitors.

Indeed, Farley has identified China as a top competitor to U.S. autos, posing an “existential threat,” not just because of the country’s technology prowess, but also in its labor infrastructure that supports manufacturing, explaining last September that American manufacturing is lagging behind Chinese rivals in the “essential economy,” or industries that manufacture physical goods. He called on American businesses and policymakers to invest in building a blue-collar workforce.

Farley said on Thursday China has been able to nab meaningful market share in Europe—as much as 10% in the EV market—as a result of lower prices, which he attributed to Chinese government subsidies.

“They pose a lot of threat to labor locally, they have huge subsidies from the government that they’re exporting,” Farley said. “As a country, we need to decide what is a fair playing field.”

Differing trade deal visions

Chief among Farley’s ongoing concerns was the continuation of the Canada-United-States-Mexico-Agreement (CUSMA), a trade deal that replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and which is subject to review this year. It will either be left to expire or be renewed for 16 years.

“We built our entire vehicle business as an industry between Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.,” Farley said. “We have to get this revised.”

While Trump imposed a 25% tariff on autos from Mexico and Canada last year, CUSMA has allowed workarounds for those countries to ease the burden of the levies. Farley said he wants to protect the deal, as so much of the auto industry in North America is interconnected and relies on the openness of cross-border supply chains, which is both efficient and cost-saving.

Trump, who signed the agreement in 2020, has undermined the deal, eschewing the need for cars manufactured in other parts of North America. The president’s most recent criticisms of the agreement came amid comments shortly following his tour of the Ford plant.

“We could have it or not. It wouldn’t matter to me,” Trump said. “I don’t really care about it.”

Whitmer, a term-limited Democrat who is in her last year as governor, said in a speech at the Detroit Auto Show that the administration’s tariff strategy has hurt American auto manufacturing and is benefiting Chinese competitors. It’s a message she has repeated over the past year as economic uncertainty has rippled across the automobile sector.

“This will only get worse without a serious shift in national policy,” Whitmer said.

Her remarks followed Trump’s speech defending his economic policy Tuesday in Detroit, a major hub of automobile manufacturing. He also toured the factory floor of a Ford plant in Dearborn.

“All U.S. automakers are doing great,” Trump said.

Whitmer offered a differing picture of the impact, saying that American manufacturing has contracted for months leading to job loss and production cuts. She has remained firmly opposed to Trump’s tariff strategy since last year, especially as her state partners closely with Canadian business. Automobile parts often cross the U.S.-Canadian border several times in the assembly process.

“America stands more alone than she has in decades,” Whitmer said. “And perhaps no industry has seen more change and been more impacted than our auto industry.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Whitmer’s speech.

Whitmer has kept a more cordial relationship with Trump in his second term compared to his first. The relationship included a few White House visits last year. Long considered a possible Democratic candidate for president, Whitmer’s strategy is notably different than other potential 2028 names who have take more public, combative approaches to Trump, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

In her address, her first of the year, Whitmer said every time she has met with Trump this past year, she has told him that hurting the U.S.-Canadian relationship only helps Chinese competition.

Trump changed his tune when it comes to automobiles in the last year. He originally announced a 25% tariff on automobiles and parts only to later relax the policy as domestic manufactures sought relief from the threat of rising production costs.

On his tour in the Detroit area, Trump suggested the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a major trade agreement he negotiated in his first term, was irrelevant, although he provided few other details The UMCA is up for review this year.

Whitmer defended the trade agreement in her speech.

“When we fight our neighbors, however, China wins,” she said.