The US International Trade Commission (ITC) questioned Ford Motor Co why it continued to pursue EV battery contracts with SK Innovation even after evidence had emerged that it misappropriated trade secrets from fellow-South Korean EV battery maker LG Chem.
The ITC, which said SK’s misconduct in this investigation had come to light, there's no explanation why Ford chose to ignore or excuse SK’s misconduct.
Ford had sought business with SK even after a company employee in November 2019 was deposed in the commission’s investigation.
The ITC added that the fault belongs with SK, as well as with those who deliberately chose to continue business relationships predicated on trade secret misappropriation, like Ford.
The ITC last month issued a limited 10-year exclusion order prohibiting imports into the US of lithium-ion batteries by SK.
SK had been importing components for producing batteries for Ford’s EV F-150 program for four years, and Volkswagen’s MEB electric vehicle line for North America for two years.
The ITC also rejected Ford’s request to extend exemptions to its unannounced new EVs, which it sees as a scheme to use similar SK batteries across the unnamed vehicles.
SK warned that if President Joe Biden does not overturn the ITC decision, it would halt the construction of a $2.6 billion battery plant in Georgia.
SK added that the decision could destroy thousands of high-tech green energy jobs, frustrate environmental protection plans, and endanger national security for being more dependent on the Chinese for batteries.
Meanwhile, VW said that the ITC's ruling would limit competition, reduce US battery capacity, hurt consumers, and cost American jobs. VW added that it is working with the US Trade Representative to avoid the consequences.


SK Holdings, KKR Launch $1.3B Renewable Energy Venture in South Korea
Apple Expands iPhone Lineup, Boosts Foldable iPhone Production Plans Through 2027
Meta Stock Jumps as AI Cloud Expansion Challenges AWS, Microsoft, and Google
Northern Star Appoints New CEO as Activist Elliott Pushes for Leadership Overhaul
TetherMax Rebranding Highlights Official Exchange Partnerships as Foundation of Trust
Kawasaki Heavy Shares Slide on Report of ¥200 Billion Capital Raise Plan
Texas Man Charged After Fatal Tesla Full Self-Driving Crash in Katy
Kuaishou Stock Jumps as Kling AI Secures $2 Billion Funding Round
ShareChat Eyes 2027 IPO After Reaching Operational Profitability, Report Says
Anthropic Tightens AI Access Controls After Reports of China-Based Workarounds
OpenAI Proposes 5% U.S. Government Stake Amid AI Policy Talks
SoftBank’s LY Corp, Bain Raise Kakaku.com Bid to ¥670 Billion, Intensifying Takeover Battle
Samsung to Invest $90 Billion in South Korea to Expand AI Chip, Display, and Battery Production
Chinese Copper Foil Maker Londian Files U.S. IPO as EV Battery Demand Grows
Trump Reports $1.4 Billion in Crypto Income as Digital Assets Become Top Wealth Source
Sodexo Raises 2026 Revenue Outlook After Strong Q3 Sales Beat
Trump Administration to Launch Voluntary AI Standards for Frontier Models 



