EV-Battery Rivals Prod Biden With Rare Trade Veto in Balance (1)

摘要

Two of the world's largest electric-vehicle battery makers have hired top Washington insiders to hold near-daily meetings with the Biden administration in a battle that could affect the electrification plans of Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG. SK Innovation Co., Ford's battery supplier for its upcoming electric F-150 pickup truck, faces a 10-year U.S. import ban on its Korean-made batteries and components after April 11. SK Innovation has engaged such well-connected advocates as former EPA chief Carol Browner and one-time Acting Attorney General Sally Yates to convince the administration to intervene. LG Energy Solution Co., which won the order against its rival from the U.S. International Trade Commission for what the agency said was an "extraordinary" effort to destroy evidence in a trade secrets battle, has also brought in hired guns to influence the Biden team. Ernest Moniz, an Obama energy secretary, is advising Seoul-based LG Energy on its strategic plans, while other insiders are lobbying the administration. "The development of the battery supply chain is going to depend on what happens with this case," Moniz said in an interview. Meetings are being held with at least a dozen agencies, including officials at Labor, Transportation and Energy. Talks, conducted over the internet because of the Covid-19 pandemic, have focused on "climate change, electrification of vehicles, the Ford F-150 and jobs," said Browner, Bill Clinton's Environmental Protection Agency chief who also served as a White House climate adviser when Biden was vice president.