If you can’t beat them, join them. That’s Ford’s current philosophy. CEO Jim Farley admits Chinese EVs offer “far superior in-vehicle technology” to Detroit. He says the country’s EV production capacity is “humbling.” And according to Bloomberg, he is now asking President Trump for permission to set up a joint venture with a Chinese automaker.

The Trump Administration is prioritizing American manufacturing. But it reportedly has no problem with a Chinese automaker assembling cars here in the U.S., especially if a U.S. company such as Ford gets a cut of the profits. That said, there is one serious concern that Ford is hoping to address.

Chief communications officer, Mark Truby, insists Ford has “been clear about the privacy and national security issues associated with Chinese vehicles in the U.S., and we will continue to reiterate this in our discussions with policymakers.” But this is easier said than done. It was Chinese in-car infotainment systems that really wowed Farley in the first place. And our domestic automakers are already worse at data privacy than any other industry.

Even if everyone can get onboard with assembling Chinese-engineered EVs in the U.S., they’ll need to hash out where the components come from. During the Biden Administration, the government adjusted EV tax credits to incentivize building batteries in the U.S. and not supporting Chinese lithium mines. But China’s decades-long investment in its lithium industry is the real reason it builds the world’s most cost-effective EVs. So Farley may see electric SUVs in China with $15,000 MSRPs and get dollar signs in his eyes. But to offer the same thing in the U.S., we’ll either need to invest in our own mines or get more comfortable buying batteries from China.