ALG sends letter to Biden urging him to reject trade court decision that would kill U.S. jobs
Fairfax, Va. – Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to override the recent United States International Trade Court (USITC) trade dispute decision in a case involving the importation and sale of certain lithium ion batteries, battery cells, battery modules, and battery packs, which would do significant damage to United States interests in growing a domestic electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing capacity.
At stake are 2,600 jobs in Georgia beginning in 2024. The SK Innovations Georgia battery plant is expected to produce as many as 250,000 new EV batteries annually when fully completed. These specially designed electric batteries are for the new Ford EV F-150 truck and for Volkswagon’s Chattanooga, Tennessee EV manufacturing plant.
The USITC is a U.S. federal court that adjudicates civil actions arising out of U.S. customs and international trade laws. In this case, the court ruled against SK Innovations in a trade dispute with one of its South Korean competitors, LG Chem.
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Open in new tab From the letter:
Please understand that Americans for Limited Government does not agree with your administration’s underlying rationale behind the push for electric vehicles. However, the business decision made by Ford and Volkswagen to continue their aggressive expansion into this market should not be delayed for years due to what effectively amounts to a trade dispute between two South Korean competitors.
One other aspect of this dispute that is important to note is that while SK Innovation adheres to the Clean Content requirements excluding invasive Communist Chinese Party software and hardware from use in their company, complainant LG Chem does not. Given the experience in Anchorage, where the Chinese government demonstrated public contempt for America and our representatives, it would be significant for the administration to put new weight into the Clean Content international agreement as a whole. Striking down the USITC decision in this case would send a powerful, proportional message in that regard.
Mr. President, you have a unique opportunity to stand up for American manufacturing and the jobs it will create, while demonstrating strong leadership in our nation’s relationship to China. It is our fervent hope that you will reject this USITC decision.
Click here to view PDF of letter.
Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-478-4643 or email cmortensen@getliberty.org.