South Korea Dominates the US Battery Material Import Sector
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Seoul, Dec 22 (NationPress) South Korea secured the largest portion of the U.S. import market for battery materials last year, according to a trade association report released on Sunday, outpacing competitors China and Japan.
The United States imported battery materials worth $9.7 billion -- including anode and cathode materials as well as separators -- from South Korea in 2023, marking a significant increase of 93.1 percent from $5.02 billion in 2020, as per the analysis by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), which utilized UN trade data.
In the previous year, South Korea accounted for a 33.7 percent share of the U.S. battery material import market, with Japan following at 26.4 percent and China at 8.4 percent. This is a remarkable rise from South Korea's 8.5 percent share in 2020, which was significantly lower than China's 28.9 percent and Japan's 17.2 percent, as reported by the Yonhap news agency.
The increase in South Korea's share of the U.S. battery materials import market is occurring amid shifts in the global supply chain, largely driven by escalating trade tensions between the United States and China.
Prominent South Korean battery manufacturers such as LG Energy Solution Ltd., SK On Co., and Samsung SDI Co. have recently established large-scale battery production facilities in the United States, which has contributed to the rise in imports of battery materials from South Korea.
However, the rapid expansion of South Korean companies' U.S. market share has raised concerns, as the incoming administration of Donald Trump is reportedly contemplating the imposition of tariffs on battery materials.
According to an internal document, Trump's transition team has suggested alterations to limit support for electric vehicles and to enforce tariffs on all battery materials worldwide, as reported by Reuters earlier.
In response, South Korean firms are striving to operate battery manufacturing plants in the United States, aligning with the current administration of Joe Biden, which is encouraging investments in electric vehicles within the country.
