ASSOCIATED PRESS • April 11, 2021
Two big South Korean electric vehicle battery makers said Sunday they have settled a long-running trade dispute that will allow one company to move ahead with plans to manufacture batteries in Georgia. President Biden called it “a win for American workers and the American auto industry.” The agreement between LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation ended the need for Biden to intervene in a case closely watched for its implications on Biden’s clean-energy agenda, which includes a sharp increase in the number of electric vehicles as part of his plan to address climate change. Switching the U.S. fleet of roughly 279 million largely gas-powered cars and trucks to electric vehicles is a focus of Biden’s infrastructure plan, with $174 billion allocated for EV incentives, a half-million charging stations and development of a domestic supply chain.