LG, SK agree on US$1.8bil settlement to end battery spat with US

This Oct. 26, 2017 file photo shows the corporate logo of LG Electronics in Goyang, South Korea. Two South Korean electric vehicle battery makers have settled a long-running trade dispute that will allow one of them to move ahead with plans to make batteries in Georgia. That's according to a person briefed on the matter. The person says LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation reached the settlement, ending the need for President Joe Biden to intervene. - AP

SEOUL, April 11 (Bloomberg): Two South Korean electric-vehicle battery makers reached a last-minute settlement in a bitter US trade dispute, sparing President Joe Biden from choosing between undermining intellectual property rights or dealing a politically toxic blow to his climate agenda.

SK Innovation Co. agreed to pay 2 trillion won (US$1.8 billion) to LG Energy Solution, a unit of LG Chem Ltd., according to a statement from the two companies. The payment is divided equally in cash and royalties, they said.