BROADCASTS.com

b'

More than two years ago, Volkswagen announced an $800 million initiative to expand its lone U.S. plant to produce electric vehicles.

But a trade dispute involving the supplier of batteries for those forthcoming vehicles has complicated those plans.

LG Energy Solution alleged that fellow Korean company SK Innovation lured away dozens of its employees in an effort to steal its trade secrets. A judge ruled in LG\\u2019s favor last year, and last week, the U.S. International Trade Commission upheld that decision \\u2014 and banned SK from importing, making or selling batteries in the U.S. for 10 years.

The decision has obvious implications for SK\\u2019s $2.6 billion factory under construction in Georgia, but it could also reverberate throughout the North American auto market \\u2014 SK was supposed to make batteries for electric vehicles from Ford and Volkswagen.

The ITC decision sought to cushion the blow for those companies by including a four-year exemption for Ford and two years for VW, but the German automaker suggested that wouldn\\u2019t be enough. VW said it was an \\u201cunintended victim\\u201d in the case and indicated it would ask for \\u201cat least four years\\u201d to ensure \\u201can adequate transition period.\\u201d

Volkswagen said it would take \\u201call necessary steps\\u201d to ensure that production of the ID.4 electric compact SUV \\u2014 and the addition of some 1,000 factory jobs \\u2014 moves forward in Tennessee. Both VW and Ford expressed hope that LG and SK would resolve their dispute out of court and ensure the nation\\u2019s supply of EV batteries goes uninterrupted. LG has reportedly floated the possibility of SK paying to license its technology.

Georgia officials, meanwhile, asked the Biden administration to reverse the ITC\\u2019s decision altogether, citing the potential impact on SK\\u2019s plans to hire 2,600 people at its new plant. Biden has 60 days to review or block the ruling.

Download and listen to the audio version below and click here to subscribe to the Today in Manufacturing podcast.