ITC Final Verdict D-1... US Also Focuses on Korea Battery Lawsuit

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] As the final decision of the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) on the trade secret infringement lawsuit between LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation over electric vehicle batteries approaches, foreign media are also paying close attention to the outcome.

The U.S. ITC is scheduled to announce the final ruling on the trade secret infringement lawsuit between LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation at 5 p.m. Eastern Time on the 10th (local time). The ITC had previously issued an "early loss" ruling against SK Innovation in February last year. If the early loss is upheld and an import ban administrative order is imposed on SK Innovation, it would, in principle, prohibit the export of battery materials to the U.S. The factory SK Innovation is building in Georgia could also face operational restrictions.

HuffPost reported on the lawsuit between the two companies, stating, "President Joe Biden has pledged to convert all federal government fleet vehicles to electric vehicles," and "the dispute between the two Korean battery companies could undermine the new administration's plans."

Both SK Innovation and LG Energy Solution have made large-scale investments in the U.S. SK Innovation is constructing Plants 1 and 2 in Georgia and plans to employ about 2,600 workers. LG Energy Solution is establishing a $2.3 billion battery joint venture with GM in Lordstown, Ohio.

HuffPost noted, "The battery production capacity of Tesla's Gigafactory in Nevada is 35 GWh, the largest scale, but it only supplies Tesla," adding, "However, LG (35 GWh) and SK (22 GWh) projects are currently the largest battery production scales in the U.S." It also observed, "Ford and Volkswagen have designed electric vehicles using SK Innovation battery products," and "(Considering this situation) the ITC may choose various options such as restricting specific parts within the scope of not imposing an import ban on all products necessary for SK Innovation's factory."

Bloomberg also reported on the ITC's final conclusion, stating, "If the ITC rules in favor of LG Energy Solution, SK Innovation will pin its hopes on President Biden rejecting the import ban," and "In the past 30 years, a U.S. president has overturned an ITC decision only once."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.