Ford CEO Calls for USMCA Rewards for Domestic Production as Most Automakers Urge Pact Extension

Ford Motor CEO Jim Farley said automakers that assemble most vehicles in the United States should receive rewards under new USMCA terms while those relying on imports should face penalties. He made the statements during a phone interview Wednesday with CNBC. "It's imperative that any new agreement makes it easier, not harder, to compete with U.S.

Makers who import from Japan, South Korea and global competitors that import from those locations," Farley said. He added that the key for Ford is a level playing field. Ford assembled more than 2 million vehicles in the United States last year, the most of any automaker, and exported 311,000 of them to more than 60 markets.

The company imported 378,000 vehicles, or 17 percent of its 2.2 million U.S. sales. General Motors imported 1.17 million vehicles in 2025, equal to 41 percent of its U.S. sales. Toyota imported more than 1.

The Trump administration decided not to renew the trilateral USMCA pact with Canada and Mexico. It will instead conduct annual reviews that could end the agreement by 2036. The auto sector accounted for about 18 percent of U.S.

Trade with the two countries last year. Trade groups representing most automakers, dealers and suppliers issued a statement Wednesday urging an extension that preserves the existing trilateral partnership and preferential treatment for qualifying goods.