WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States International Trade Commission (ITC) on Wednesday supported LG Chem Ltd, a South Korean electric and chemical battery manufacturer, which accused its rival SK Innovation Co Ltd of appropriating of trade secrets related to EV battery technology.
The ITC said it was issuing a 10-year limited exclusion order, but would allow SK to import components for the domestic production of lithium-ion batteries, battery cells, battery modules and battery packs for the EV F- program. 150 from Ford Motor Co for four years, and for the Volkswagen of America MEB electric vehicle line to the North America region for two years.
The ITC said the decision would allow automakers to transition to new suppliers for these programs.
LG Energy Solution, a wholly owned battery subsidiary of LG Chem, praised the decision.
“SKI’s total disregard for our notices and intellectual property rights gave us no choice but to open this case,” said Jong Hyun Kim, CEO of LG Energy Solution. He said the company would “further strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights going forward”.
SK Innovation, in a statement, said it regretted the ITC decision “but it is a relief that we will continue to provide Ford and Volkswagen”.
SK noted that there was a 60-day presidential review period in which President Joe Biden could decide to reverse the decision. Biden has made electric vehicles and reducing vehicle emissions a priority.
LG Chem separated its battery business renamed LG Energy Solution, an EV battery supplier for Tesla Inc and General Motors Co. It filed its US commercial complaints against SK Innovation in April 2019, claiming that its rival stole secrets commercial.
He sought to prevent SK from bringing batteries and components to the United States, as well as the manufacturing systems needed for US production, which is scheduled to begin in 2022.
SK Innovation is building two EV battery factories in Georgia to manufacture batteries for us in Volkswagen and Ford electric vehicles. LG Chem set up an EV battery venture factory with GM in Ohio.
Ford said that “the ITC decision supports our plans to bring the all-electric Ford F-150 to the market in mid-2022.”
Volkswagen and Ford previously warned that a legal US dispute between South Korean battery manufacturers could disrupt the supply of major EV parts and cost jobs in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic. VW did not immediately comment on Wednesday.
Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Heekyong Yang in Seoul; Editing by Chris Reese and David Gregorio