Request for extension of grace period when supply becomes unstable due to ITC import ban
Georgia Governor asks Biden to “exercise veto”
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(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Jang Jae-eun = Automaker Volkswagen (VW) has been asking the US government to allow the use of electric vehicle batteries produced by SK Innovation for at least four years.
According to Reuters, Volkswagen said in a statement on the 12th (local time) that “we suffered unintended damage due to a dispute between two Korean battery suppliers (SK Innovation and LG Energy Solutions).”
Volkswagen predicts that the operation of electric vehicle production lines in the US will be disrupted by SK Innovation’s defeat of the dispute.
Earlier on the 10th, the US Trade Commission (ITC) raised the hand of LG Energy Solutions after acknowledging that SK Innovation infringed on trade secrets in the dispute between the two battery companies.
Accordingly, ITC issued an order to block imports of batteries and parts found to have infringed on the trade secrets of SK Innovation in the United States for 10 years and prohibit distribution and sales in the United States for 10 years on items that have already been imported.
However, ITC allowed SK Innovation to import batteries for the Volkswagen electric vehicle production line in the US for two years.
Similarly, for four years, SK Innovation was allowed to import parts needed for battery production in the United States for Ford’s electric vehicle F-150 program.
SK Innovation is currently building plants 1 and 2 that can produce 430,000 electric vehicle batteries per year (21.5GWh) by investing about 3 trillion won in Georgia.
Plant 1 is preparing to produce prototypes after construction and will supply 200,000 batteries per year to be mounted on Volkswagen’s electric vehicle platform (MEB) from next year.
This corresponds to all of the electric vehicles Volkswagen will sell in the North American market.
Considering the commissioning and construction period of the Georgia plant, SK Innovation can only deliver batteries to Volkswagen and Ford within the grace period for only one and two years, respectively.
Electric vehicle batteries are a field that requires long-term cooperation from platform development with automakers, so it is possible for Volkswagen and Ford to end the contract with SK and quickly find a new battery supplier if SK fails to come up with a measure to rush the import ban.
In this situation, the US Governor of Georgia on the 12th urged US President Joe Biden to overturn the ITC’s decision.
Governor Brian Kemp issued a statement and called for the veto, saying that the decision could hurt SK Innovation’s electric vehicle battery plant construction in Georgia.
“Unfortunately, the ITC’s recent decision (Corona 19) puts SK’s 2,600 clean energy jobs at risk and significant investments in innovative manufacturing during the pandemic,” Governor Kemp said.
Jim Parley, the CEO of US automobile company Ford, also tweeted on the 11th, saying, “The agreement between the two companies that are suppliers of (electric vehicle batteries) will ultimately benefit the US (electric vehicle) manufacturers and workers.” Requested.
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2021/02/13 13:47 sent
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