Biden sees `win' for US in electric vehicle battery deal
By: MATTHEW DALY and TOM KRISHER (AP NEWS)
What's good for South Korea is good for the United States. Of course, South Korean doesn't have to deal with BLM protests or a porous southern border or health care deserts or a shrinking middle class; they're only in it for the money.
The United States has declined so much that now our own government policy is dependent upon importing wealthy people and rich multinational corporations. Those foreigners do pay taxes that our country's own wealthy avoid. So, the Biden administration sells out the country for a few fiat dollars while the country's own wealthy are AWOL.
Jim Cramer daily preaches getting rich on the skim with a something-for-nothing flimflam and Paul Krugman waxes poetic about the obsolescence of manufacturing because the world supplies everything we need for a few fiat dollars more. According to the liberal economic thinkers there's no problem the United States can't solve by printing more money. Never in the history of the world has so many obtained so much for doing so little.
Joe Biden naturally applauds selling out the United States because all that foreign money can be obscured to make the sell-out look like a political win for a Democrat controlled government. Biden is only in it to win it for his political party. We've all heard about vulture capitalists. Well, Joe Biden is a vulture politician. And the United States is dead meat.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
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 Joe 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. Biden had until Sunday night to make a decision, following a ruling in February by a trade commission.
The companies said in a joint statement that SK will provide LG Energy with a total of $1.8 billion and an undisclosed royalty. They agreed to withdraw all pending trade disputes in the United States and South Korea and not assert new claims for 10 years.
"We have decided to settle and to compete in an amicable way, all for the future of the U.S. and South Korean electric vehicle battery industries," said Jun Kim, CEO and president of SK, and Jong Hyun Kim, CEO and president of LG Energy.
The companies pledged to work together to strengthen the EV battery supply chain in the U.S. and support the Biden administration's efforts to advance clean energy policies, including electric vehicles.
The U.S. International Trade Commission had decided in February that SK stole 22 trade secrets from LG Energy, and that SK should be barred from importing, making or selling batteries in the United States for 10 years.
The decision could have left Ford and Volkswagen scrambling for batteries as they both roll out additional electric vehicle models, a priority for the companies and for the Biden administration. SK has contracts to make batteries for an electric Ford F-150 pickup truck and an electric Volkswagen SUV.
The commission said SK could supply batteries to Ford Motor Co. for four years and to Volkswagen AG for two years. The decision had jeopardized a $2.6 billion battery factory that SK is building in Commerce, Georgia.
Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia, who at Biden's request had jump-started negotiations between two companies, said the settlement "has saved the battery plant in Commerce, Georgia, ensuring thousands of jobs, billions in future investment, and that Georgia will be a leader in electric vehicle battery production for years to come.″
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said the deal "builds confidence" in the reliability and responsibility of the two companies as suppliers to the U.S. auto industry. The agreement puts the U.S. "in a stronger position to drive innovation and ... clean energy technology while also respecting the rights of technology innovators at the heart of trade and manufacturing policy,″ Tai said.
Added Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga.: "The best way to protect workers in Commerce — and the jobs Georgians were promised — is for the companies involved to negotiate a settlement in good faith,." He said he raised the battery issue with Biden during the president's March 19 visit to Atlanta.
Biden said in a statement that building electric vehicles and the batteries needed for them is an important part of his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan.
"We need a strong, diversified and resilient U.S.-based electric vehicle battery supply chain, so we can supply the growing global demand for these vehicles and components — creating good-paying jobs here at home, and laying the groundwork for the jobs of tomorrow. Today's settlement is a positive step in that direction," Biden said.
Gov. Brian Kemp, R-Ga., called the settlement "fantastic news for northeast Georgia and our state's growing electric vehicle industry.″
Ford, in a statement, said the deal "allows us to focus on delivering a range of Ford world-class battery electric vehicles for our retail and fleet customers, while also supporting American workers, the economy and our shared goal of protecting the planet.″
Sam Abuelsamid, principal analyst for Guidehouse Insights, said a settlement was always the most likely outcome. Demand for electric vehicles is projected to rise dramatically by 2035, and other companies will start making them in the U.S. to meet that demand, he said.
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. Experts say it's possible the U.S. will run short of electric vehicle batteries if it doesn't set up its own network of parts suppliers.
"We don't have nearly enough (existing) battery production capacity to meet the kind of volumes that companies are talking about producing," Abuelsamid said.
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Way to go, Joe. Let's not hold our own vulture capitalists accountable. Our own wealthy surely can become richer by selling out the United States for a few dollars more. Tax revenue to pay for all of Biden's something-for-nothing policies has to come from somewhere.
Grain that passes through the horse feeds the sparrow. To Joe Biden and his Democrat cronies we're all just horses.
Joe Biden is a vulture politician. And the United States is dead meat.
All they have to do with these electric vehicles is make them affordable to the masses.
What price do you consider affordable???
They also have to ensure there are enough high capacity quick recharge stations to accommodate all of these new electric vehicles. Make sure that the home recharging stations are affordable and moron proof (unless they think 12 plus hours to recharge from a standard outlet is acceptable?). Make sure the roads and highways are capable of handling the new electric vehicles- some of which have a lower chassis than normal cars and trucks (Michigan I am looking directly at you).
It is more than that. We need a long term solution for lithium mining and the building of batteries for EVs (and this includes going beyond dependence on lithium). Importantly, the supply chain needs to be from very friendly sources and, ideally, the USA itself. We are talking about a massive and incredibly important dimension of our economy, defense, etc. We need to be extremely careful when relying upon other nations.
Agreed; however, it seems to be more important to many people that things are cheap.
Don't get me wrong... things need to be affordable to the masses too, but a lot of things need to occur before that happens.
As competition increases and more is invested into R&D they will start to have greater ranges and become cheaper simply due to increased competition. Already with the federal tax credit they are pretty similarly priced to combustion engine vehicles.
Plus once you factor in what you aren’t spending on gas they start to make up the difference pretty fast. When my wife and I get our Vw electrics we will be saving close to $1500 annually on not going to the gas pump.
So much for his claim that everything was going to be done by American businesses. Making South Korea richer doesn't have the same ring to it does it Joe?
What does Biden have to do with the battery plant in GA? Nothing since it was agreed to long before Biden became president and construction has already started before Biden came into office. You may want to piss on Kemp and the powers that be in GA since they are the ones that put the deal together since the deal was agreed to and announced in November of 2018. Trump was president at that time.
American business could have done the same thing that SKI business is doing but they didn't step up to the plate.
And that's the point. Biden's policy depends upon importing foreign wealth.
This project and agreement dates back to November of 2018 and doesn't have anything to do with Biden. You do know who was president in November of 2018, don't you?
Joe Biden could have changed that with an executive order. Biden killed the Keystone pipeline and he could have killed this deal, too. Obviously Biden believes he can score political points.
Biden's policy depends upon foreign investment because our own country's wealthy are AWOL.
Are you aware that the governor of GA. asked Biden to intervene in the dispute between the two companies in the trade commission findings? That is a Republican Governor asking a democratic president to save their ass because without a settlement between the two battery companies the project was going to die. Biden didn't have to intervene since the two parties settled the dispute.
The Keystone pipeline and the plant in GA are two different situations.
What's your point? Joe Biden wanted to save Brian Kemp's bacon? Joe Biden thinks he can score more votes in Georgia by praising this deal?
Biden is claiming the deal is a win for the country; not for Georgia or Brian Kemp. Obviously what that really means is what's good for Joe Biden is good for Democrats. But it's not clear that the country will benefit. As I've pointed out, South Korea is not a stakeholder in the domestic affairs of the United States.
Nerm, it was Kemp and GA that negotiated the deal with the Koreans. Biden said it was a good deal for Americans, so what is the problem you're having with that. It's 2,000 jobs, tax revenue and the plant will be producing batteries that will be used in cars here.
No SK is not a stakeholder but they are investing in America, what part of that don't you understand? When American corporations build a facility in another country they are not a stakeholder in that country but an investor.
If they are here to make money then of course they have a stake in US domestic affairs, they stand to make more with domestic stability in the US rather than instability. Regardless by building the plants and all that they are investing in the US.
It's a good deal for Americans because the two companies essentially settled out of court for what seems to be a forgone conclusion as to who would win in a long drawn out court battle.
It's a good deal for Americans because all Americans will able to buy electric VWs and Fords, sooner rather than later,
while Georgians get 2,000 more jobs...
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I am with you, for the last week or so he has sounded like a socialist (and I mean that in the economic sense, not the way that the right uses the word) if not an outright communist. I am honesty not sure what Nerm’s economic views are.