"Thousands' Livelihoods at Stake" Georgia, USA Appeals to Revoke Ban on SK Battery Imports

Letter Requesting President Joe Biden to Overturn ITC Decision

Photo from the groundbreaking ceremony of SK Innovation's electric vehicle battery production plant in Georgia, USA, March 2019

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] "We ask the International Trade Commission (ITC) to overturn the import ban decision on SK Innovation's batteries."

The state government of Georgia, USA, on the 12th (local time) disclosed the contents of a letter sent by Governor Brian Kemp to President Joe Biden, stating that thousands of jobs could be lost. Governor Kemp had also issued a statement requesting a reversal of the decision immediately after the ITC announcement on the 12th of last month (local time).

In the letter, Kemp explained that SK's electric vehicle battery plant being built in Commerce, Georgia, is expected to employ 2,600 people, and that the $2.6 billion investment (approximately 2.9549 trillion KRW) SK made to build the plant is the largest foreign investment ever in Georgia. He also emphasized, "The SK plant will be the only major electric vehicle battery plant in the United States constructed without federal government subsidies."

Kemp introduced that SK plans to expand the plant by 2025, increasing the workforce to about 6,000 and boosting battery production capacity to 50 GWh (gigawatt-hours) annually. He conveyed SK's explanation that "if the president does not overturn the ITC decision, which would make it economically impossible for the Georgia plant to continue operating, the plant will have no choice but to close."

He also argued, "SK's plant aligns precisely with President Biden's goal of 'transforming the U.S. automotive industry to focus on electric vehicles and providing high-paying good jobs to local workers.'" Referring to President Biden's recent executive order to review supply chains such as electric vehicle batteries to reduce "dependence on China," Kemp stressed that if SK's plant closes, "the U.S. will fall behind China in the electric vehicle battery competition."

Kemp cited the example of former President Barack Obama overturning an ITC decision in 2013. At that time, Obama reversed the ITC's import ban on Apple products that infringed Samsung Electronics' patents. He added, "The livelihoods of thousands of Georgians are in your hands. Please know that we are ready to assist you in any way regarding your decision."

Earlier, on the 10th of last month, the ITC ordered a 10-year import ban on some lithium-ion batteries from SK, ruling that SK had infringed on trade secrets of LG Energy Solution (formerly LG Chem's battery division). However, a grace period was also granted allowing imports of batteries and parts for Ford and Volkswagen's U.S. production. In this regard, SK is requesting the White House to exercise the president's veto power. President Biden has until the 11th of next month to review the ITC decision.

On the 12th, LG announced plans to independently build two or more battery production plants in the U.S. by 2025, investing over 5 trillion KRW. One of the reasons LG revealed this large-scale investment plan is to prevent President Biden from overturning the ITC decision.

SK Innovation signed an investment agreement worth $940 million with the Georgia state government in June last year to establish a second electric vehicle battery plant and is currently constructing the new plant with a target completion in 2023. The batteries produced at the second plant will have an annual capacity of 11.7 GWh. By around 2023, when both the first and second plants in Georgia are completed, SK is expected to have an annual production capacity of 21.5 GWh in the U.S. alone.

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