According to foreign media reports, Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Farley called for a stronger U.S. industrial system and believed that some tariff measures could encourage companies to create jobs in “key economic sectors.”
Jim Farley； Image source: Ford Motor official website
On June 27, Farley said that a balance needs to be found while creating a “level playing field” to promote the development of U.S. manufacturing while ensuring that vehicle prices remain within an affordable range. “What I want to say is that we want to level the playing field for the whole vehicle,” Farley said. For parts, we should import from all over the world. We want to maintain stability in Mexico and other countries. That’s what we want to achieve in partnership with the government. ”
Farley believes that a modest tariff regime may help, and in February this year, Farley slammed US President Donald Trump’s trade policies. At the time, Farley said the policies had caused “a lot of costs and a lot of chaos” and that import tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada “would have an unprecedented impact on American industry.”
On June 27, Farley said that the United States must focus on supporting blue-collar jobs such as construction, manufacturing, agriculture and skilled jobs, rather than prioritizing white-collar jobs. “What happens if self-defense is necessary? Is Google going to build tanks? We have talked about energy independence many times, but we need to start talking about industrial independence now. The public does not realize that as a country we are very dependent on imports from other countries. ”
For example, Ford has temporarily shut down its U.S. plants over the past three weeks due to a shortage of magnets, which contain rare earth minerals, and these critical components are at the center of the U.S.-China trade dispute. Farley says these magnets are essential for seats, wipers, doors and audio systems.
In addition, Farley emphasized that Ford is the company that provides the most jobs to UAW members of any automaker, and said that since the Great Recession, Ford has increased union member jobs, while Stellantis and General Motors have reduced jobs.
Farley said he was “unaware” that factory workers had not received a pay increase for years before Ford negotiated with the UAW in 2023, and that the negotiations ultimately led to a 25% wage increase and improved benefits. “This initiative is costly, but I think it’s one of the changes that we need to make in our country. And it’s not easy, because there is a lot of pressure in the financial sector. Farley believes that more companies need to raise employee compensation to help alleviate the shortage of about 600,000 manufacturing jobs in the United States.
