U.S. President Donald Trump and Ford CEO Jim Farley applaud as President Trump visits Ford’s production center in Dearborn, Michigan, on January 13, 2026.
Evelyn HochsteinReuter
DETROIT — As negotiations on the USMCA North American Trade Agreement officially resume, ford motor CEO Jim Farley has been clear about what the company wants under the new negotiations: a more level playing field.
He told CNBC he hopes automakers such as Ford, which manufactures the majority of its cars domestically, will be awarded the deal. In addition, Mr. Farley said that other automakers, e.g. general motors and toyota motors – Vehicles that may be produced here but rely heavily on imports should be subject to more fines.
“It is imperative that any new agreement makes it easier, not harder, to compete with U.S. manufacturers who import from Japan and South Korea, and with our global competitors who import from those regions,” Farley told CNBC in a phone interview Wednesday. “That’s the key for us.”
Production in these countries is usually cheaper due to labor costs.
GM and Toyota are number one and number two in US sales, respectively, and will be the top two car importing countries in 2025.
GM imported 1.17 million vehicles, or 41% of its U.S. sales, while Toyota imported more than 1.19 million vehicles, or 47% of its domestic sales, according to industry data.
Hyundai Motor plans to roughly double its domestic sales in the US to 80% by 2030, making it the largest importer of cars from South Korea, followed by GM.
Meanwhile, Ford reported assembling more than 2 million vehicles in the U.S. last year. This is more than any other automaker and includes 311,000 units for export to more than 60 international markets. Of the 2.2 million cars the company sold last year, 378,000 cars, or 17%, were imported.
“Ford is the leader in U.S. auto production with the most American-made vehicles, but more importantly, it imports the least, exports the most, and has the most UAW (union) workers here,” Farley said. “So we’re very proud, especially of the ratio of what we build here versus what we import.”
Farley’s comments came as the Trump administration opted not to renew the trilateral trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, instead opting to conduct an annual review of the agreement that could ultimately lead to its termination by 2036.
The auto industry accounted for about 18% of U.S. trade with neighboring countries last year, according to industry data, making it one of the key areas of discussion. Automakers and other stakeholders monitoring the negotiations are concerned that restarting the deal could create further trade uncertainty, leading to lower investment and fewer jobs.
A consortium of U.S. trade groups representing most automakers, dealers and suppliers on Wednesday expressed support for a trilateral agreement like the one countries currently have.
“We call on the leaders of the United States, Canada, and Mexico to quickly reach an agreement on an extension of the USMCA that preserves the existing trilateral partnership, restores preferential treatment for eligible products, and continues the stability and predictability that has helped our industry thrive over the past six years,” the statement said.
