REPORT: S. Korea targeting Japanese li-ion products
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The long-simmering confrontation between South Korea and Japan has affected all sorts of relationships between the two countries. While mostly peaceful over the last few decades, there remains some bad blood between the two countries. A new rule that the South Korean government will soon introduce could bring the disagreements to the electric vehicle market.
According to the Japanese newspaper the Yomiuri Shimbun, starting on July 1, South Korea will begin to regulate goods that have lithium-ion batteries. South Korea and Japan are two of the world's biggest li-ion battery makers, and the new rule "could in effect shut products using Japanese-made lithium batteries out of the South Korean market," the Yomiuri wrote. Exactly how the li-ion products are supposed to get the certification the South Koreans are requiring isn't exactly clear, one Japanese government official told the paper. How EVs might be affected is also unknown at this time. U.S. products will be exempt from the regulation starting in October.
[Source: Yomiuri via Green Car Congress]
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