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00:00So first of all Senator I think I have to congratulate you because there are a lot there is a lot at stake in this wasn't clear what happened. Give us a sense of how you got it done. As I understand President Biden asked you to intervene. Well David thank you for having me and it was an extraordinary team effort. I want to commend in particular the United States trade representative Ambassador Catherine Tie her staff. And she did an extraordinary job of bringing this to a successful conclusion. And I got involved because this is a matter of Georgia's economic interest. Twenty six hundred skilled jobs at this S.K. innovation facility that's being built in Commerce Georgia. Billions of dollars of investment in Georgia's economy. And this is a strategic investment because we're talking about electric vehicle battery technology. The United States needs a diversified supply chain so that our auto manufacturers can access this technology so they have a choice of vendors. And we don't want to rely exclusively upon imports in order to provide our automotive industry with this electric vehicle battery technology. But there was a significant intellectual property dispute between SDK and LG. The options that were apparent were for President Biden to consider a veto of the ruling by the International Trade Commission. That veto would have allowed S.K. to continue construction of this plant in Georgia. But at the cost of the integrity of our intellectual property legal regime. So I stepped in. The parties were at an impasse. I urged them back to the table. We got a negotiated settlement. LG has withdrawn its complaint at the ITC against SCA. SCA can continue with construction of this two point six billion dollar facility in Commerce Georgia and twenty six hundred Georgians will be employed in skilled jobs producing electric vehicle battery technology. And center that is where the high drama comes from. And it's in the area of climate that is a priority for the Biden administration. It is electric vehicles which are terribly important. At the same time protection intellectual property is as well. Can you give us some sense of how you reconcile this. Because these two parties have been in dispute for some time. And as I understand it you right up against the deadline from the International Trade Commission about banning imports from S.K.. That's right. The president had 60 days from the International Trade Commission's judgment to determine whether or not he was going to veto the ITC is ruling. And that put the administration in the unenviable position of having to make a choice between the production of strategic technology in the United States electric vehicle batteries which are a vital part of our transition to a clean energy future a geo strategic technology where we face substantial competition with China and on the other hand potentially eroding confidence in intellectual property law in the United States because in order for major industries to undertake significant research and development in order to attract foreign direct investment there needs to be confidence that intellectual property law. United States is robust and enforced. That's why a settlement was a vital and necessary solution. The parties are no longer at odds. A payment has been made from S.K. to LG. So at LG withdrew its complaint. At the ITC the intellectual property law regime is intact and George is gonna get these twenty six hundred skilled jobs. The United States will have a diversified electric vehicle battery supply chain. Senator. Can you give us some sense of how long this settlement will last for. Because obviously S.K. is investing a lot of money in that plant in Georgia. We wouldn't want to have this issue come up again another three or four years. No and look they would have faced only two years in the case of production of one battery component or four years in the case of production of another before they had to shut this plant completely. Now this dispute is behind us. The ITC matter has been fully withdrawn. The parties are no longer fighting it out over this intellectual property dispute. S.K. is continuing with this two point six billion dollar investment in Georgia. I believe it's the largest foreign direct investment ever made in the state of Georgia for this plant that will employ so many people producing technology vital to our clean energy transition. What took it over the top. A lot of hard work and relentless pressure on both companies to come to a deal. Look these are two South Korean industrial titans both of whom have invested many billions of dollars in electric vehicle battery technology. And it took a lot of hard work by a lot of people. And I want to again commend United States Trade Representative Ambassador Catherine Tai for her extraordinary contributions to the efforts to bring these companies to the table settle the dispute allow the ITC matter to be put to rest. With just hours left on the clock President Biden called me on Saturday afternoon to confirm that the deal had indeed been reached and construction of the facility in Georgia could therefore continue. So Senator this is not to suggest any all but why the president Thank you. What did your background prepared you to get this done. Well I don't think the president picked me. Look I stepped in here because Georgia jobs and Georgia's economic growth were at stake. Again two thousand six hundred skilled jobs in and around Commerce Georgia. This will be vital employment generating wealth generating opportunity for northeast Georgia and statewide for decades to come. And David this is gonna attract other firms in the clean energy space to build and locate facilities in Georgia and create more jobs. These supply chains that are becoming increasingly integrated the fact that we have electric vehicle battery production one of the most significant production capacity is now moving into Georgia means that other firms involved in the electric vehicle space and the clean energy space are going to come to Georgia. I welcome them to Georgia and look forward to working with them to create more jobs in Georgia. Senator it was widely reported beforehand that LG was insisting that the deal total three billion dollars. I don't know how much is confidential what's not. But it did basically get what it wanted. So the agreed settlement was a one point eight billion dollar payment from S.K. to LG. And the matter before the International Trade Commission has been resolved. And as your viewers who have been involved in complex high stakes negotiations no moving those numbers over time takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of pressure. Both parties need to understand that their incentives are aligned so that they need a deal. And it takes a deadline. And it was with the clock ticking. Just less than 24 hours to go until that plant might have been shuttered. That we were able to get a favorable resolution save the plant in Commerce Georgia and the intellectual property dispute and make a huge step forward for clean energy technology electric vehicle production in the United States.

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SK, LG Settlement Brings Great Benefits to Georgia: Sen. Ossoff

Jon Ossoff, a Democrat from Georgia, discusses the $1.8 billion settle between South Korean electric-vehicle battery makers SK Innovation Co. and LG Energy Solution. The settlement will avert a 10-year import ban of SK Innovation’s batteries into the U.S., and, according to Ossoff, it will save 2,600 skilled jobs at a Georgia plant. He says the move is a strategic investment as it allows the U.S. to have a more diversified supply chain for auto manufacturers. He speaks to David Westin on "Bloomberg Technology." (Source: AccuWeather)

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