U.S. officials met S. Korean battery makers in Seoul over IRA: sources

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) officials recently visited South Korea and met with senior officials of major battery makers here to discuss concerns raised by Seoul over a new U.S. law on electric vehicle subsidies, industry sources said Thursday.
Their meetings with LG Energy Solution Ltd., Samsung SDI Co., and SK On Co. came as South Korean auto and related industries have raised serious concerns over the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed by U.S. President Joe Biden in August, which calls for giving subsidies to EV buyers only if the cars were assembled in North America.
The law will also require EVs to be equipped with batteries made with a certain portion of minerals mined or processed in the U.S., or countries or regions that have free trade agreements with Washington. The required portion of the minerals will increase over the years.
Battery makers rely heavily on China for the refining and smelting of core minerals used in battery manufacturing.
“It was not about drawing conclusions but listening to opinions about the IRA,” an industry source said, without elaborating further.
South Korea has been making all-out efforts, both on the government and business fronts, to create exceptions for Korean-made EVs, saying the clauses will discriminate against Korean companies, including top automakers Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp., along with the battery manufacturers.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

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