Battery Giants, Hyundai Concerned by U.S. Moves on China Supplies

(Bloomberg) — South Korea’s biggest electric-car battery makers and Hyundai Motor Co. have expressed concern over new U.S. legislation aimed at boosting domestic production of EVs and reducing the use of Chinese materials, moves they say could hurt their competitiveness.

Korean trade ministry officials met with Hyundai Motor, LG Energy Solution Ltd., Samsung SDI Co., and SK On Co. to listen to their “concerns and difficulties” about measures in the US’s climate and tax bill, the ministry said in a statement Thursday. Chief among these: the need to assemble EVs in North America and to end reliance on China for battery supplies for the vehicles to qualify for a maximum $7,500 tax credit.