Ford eyes level playing field with Toyota and GM imports under new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)

DETROIT – With negotiations officially reopening on the North American Trade Agreement (USMCA), ford motor CEO Jim Farley is clear about what the company wants under the new talks: a more level playing field.

He told CNBC that he wants automakers like Ford that largely produce their cars domestically to be granted more benefits under the deal. Besides, Farley said that other automakers – e.g GM and toyota motor – which may be produced here but also relies heavily on imported vehicles should receive more penalties.

“It is imperative that any new agreement make it easier, not harder, to compete with U.S. manufacturers who import from Japan and South Korea and global competitors who import from those locations,” Farley told CNBC during a phone interview on Wednesday. “That’s the key for us.”

Production in such countries is usually less expensive due to labor costs.

GM and Toyota rank first and second in US sales, respectively, while they are also the largest importers of cars in 2025.

General Motors imported 1.17 million vehicles, or 41% of its sales in the United States, while Toyota imported more than 1.19 million units, or 47%, of its domestic sales, according to industry data.

Hyundai Motor, which plans to double its domestic sales produced in the United States to 80% by 2030, was the largest importer of cars from South Korea, followed by General Motors.

Meanwhile, Ford reported that it assembled more than 2 million vehicles in the United States last year — more than any other automaker, including 311,000 units for export to more than 60 international markets. It imported 378,000 cars, or 17%, of its sales of 2.2 million last year.

“Ford is the leading automobile manufacturer in the United States and has the largest number of vehicles manufactured in the United States, but more importantly, we import very few of them, export most of them, and have the largest number of unmanned vehicles.” [union] “The workers are here. So we’re very proud, especially of the ratio between what we build here and what we import,” Farley said.

Farley’s comments come as the Trump administration has decided not to renew its trilateral trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, instead opting to conduct annual reviews of the treaty that could eventually lead to the agreement being terminated by 2036.

The auto industry represented about 18% of America’s trade with its neighboring countries last year, according to industry data, making it one of the key sectors in the discussions. Automakers and others monitoring the talks worry that reopening the deal could create more trade uncertainty that leads 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 three-way deal like the countries currently have.

“We urge the leaders of the United States, Canada, and Mexico to quickly reach consensus on an extension of the USMCA that preserves the existing trilateral partnership, returns preferential treatment for eligible goods, and continues the stability and predictability that has helped the industry thrive over the past six years,” they said in a statement.