Georgia governor again asks Biden to overturn ITC ruling on SK Innovation

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has called upon President Joe Biden to overturn the US International Trade Commission’s ruling against SK Innovation, marking the third such request since the decision made on Feb. 11.

In his statement issued on Thursday, local time, Kemp urged that the impact on the $2.6 billion electric vehicle battery production plant in Jackson County will deliver a heavy blow to the regional economy, unless the president takes immediate action.

“The jobs of at least 2,600 Georgians depend on President Biden’s upcoming decision on the ITC ruling, and I sincerely hope he will use his authority to do the right thing,” the governor said.

SK Innovation has been constructing plants in Georgia, dedicated to producing EV batteries for Ford Motor and Volkswagen and set to hire some 2,600 people by 2024.

In an earlier letter sent out last month, the governor asked the president to “diaspprove the ITC ruling on grounds that it is contrary to the public interest and will seriously jeopardize your administration’s environmental and economic goals.”

In February, the US ITC sided with LG Energy Solution in the trade secret case and issued a 10-year import ban on SK Innovation. The US ITC then gave temporary permits to SK Innovation to make battery products for Ford and Volkswagen in the US in order to allow them to find new partners down the road.

Unless the US president exercises the veto by this Sunday, the ITC ruling is to take final effect.

By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)