EXCLUSIVE: Acting Labor Sec. Keith Sonderling praises Ford for bringing Lincoln production to U.S.: ‘Exactly what we want to see’

Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling praised Ford’s decision to phase out imports of Lincoln vehicles from China and expand production in the United States, calling the move an example of the reindustrialization President Donald Trump promised.

“This is exactly what we want to see,” Sonderling told the Washington Reporter in an interview at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual conference.

Sonderling made the comment after the Reporter asked him about Ford’s announcement that it will increase Lincoln production in the United States beginning in 2030 and phase out imports from China for the U.S. market.

Ford itself said that the move will “further strengthen Ford’s position as America’s No. 1 auto producer.”

Sonderling pointed to similar moves by other major manufacturers as evidence of a broader shift toward American production.

“Senator Cruz, Secretary Lutnick and I were at Toyota, where we saw them investing $3.7 billion into San Antonio, bringing the Tacoma production back from Mexico into Texas,” Sonderling said. “Harley-Davidson is bringing production from Thailand to Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.”

Toyota announced in July that it will invest $3.6 billion to add a second production line at its San Antonio plant, creating more than 2,000 jobs and transferring production of the Tacoma pickup from Baja California, Mexico, to Texas over roughly four years.

Harley-Davidson announced in June that it will return production of its Revolution Max motorcycles for the North American market to facilities in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The company specifically cited changes in U.S. trade policy under the Trump administration as creating new opportunities to invest in domestic manufacturing.

Sonderling said the moves are creating the type of skilled manufacturing jobs the administration wants to bring back to the United States.

“The automotive industry, these are very skilled jobs, and people want these products built in America, and there’s a lot of incentives to build them as well,” Sonderling said.

He tied the announcements directly to Trump’s broader manufacturing agenda.

“The manufacturing jobs, the reindustrialization that President Trump promised, you’re seeing in the auto industry, you’re seeing in the pharmaceutical industry,” Sonderling said. “We want these jobs to stay. We want them to go to American workers.”

Sonderling said the Labor Department is working to make sure American workers have the skills necessary to fill those jobs, including through partnerships with manufacturers, community colleges and the Department of Education.

He pointed specifically to Workforce Pell programs that can support shorter training programs designed around the skills employers need.

“They’re working with us, the Department of Education and community colleges, to develop these eight- to 15-week courses that give you that baseline skill so you can start working and then get those more advanced skills while you’re already in the workforce,” Sonderling said.

For Sonderling, the Ford, Toyota and Harley-Davidson moves are part of the same effort to rebuild domestic supply chains and connect new investment with American workers.

“It all plays into it in bringing back supply chains back to the U.S.,” Sonderling said. “We want American workers to get that, and they need that exposure earlier.”