The White House and the Ford Motor Company say a settlement between two battery makers paves the way for a push to create more electric vehicles.
The U.S. International Trade Commission ruled months ago that South Korean electric battery company S.K. Innovation should be banned from selling in the U.S. for a decade, because it stole 22 trade secrets from rival L.G. Energy Solution.
Now the two companies have reached a settlement where S.K. Innovation will pay L.G. Energy Solution almost two billion dollars, and withdraw any trade claims against it.
It allows S.K to go forward with contracts to supply batteries to Ford, which needs them for its electric F-150 pickup truck, a deal with Volkswagen for its electric S.U.V. and to continue building a new factory in Georgia. President Biden said in a statement the deal is a “win for American workers and a win for the American auto industry.” It’s also a win for Biden, who wants to increase the use of electric vehicles, and faced a deadline yesterday (Sunday) to decide whether to intervene in the trade dispute between the two Korean companies.