U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Thursday he would support taking action against U.S. automaker Ford's (F.N) decision to move some production to China if the shift was because of "non-economic reasons."
Lighthizer, who was appearing before a panel of U.S. senators, did not give details on the factors that could trigger action from the administration of President Donald Trump or what sort of action it might take.
But he made clear he was not enthused about Ford Motor Co's announcement earlier this week that it will move some production of its Focus small car to China and import the vehicles to the United States.
"I find that very troubling," Lighthizer said. "It doesn't necessarily make sense to me."
Ford's plan suggests China could play a much larger role in future vehicle production for North America, perhaps eclipsing Mexico as a low-cost manufacturing source.
President Donald Trump has had harsh words for both China and Mexico, accusing the two countries of unfairly competing with U.S. industries. Automaker Tesla Inc TSLA.O said on Thursday it was exploring the possibility of establishing a Chinese manufacturing plant.
Ford has painted the production shift from Mexico to China, slated for mid-2019, as a purely financial move that will save the company $500 million in reduced tooling costs.
Lighthizer said he wanted to know more about the incentives for the move.
"If it happened for reasons that are non-economic reasons, then I think the administration should take action," he said.