South Korea tops U.S. battery material import market amid U.S.-China conflict

South Korea has solidified its No. 1 position in the U.S. battery material import market, a report showed.

U.S. imports of positive electrode materials, negative electrode materials and separators rose 93.1 percent from $5.02 billion in 2020 to $9.69 billion last year, according to U.N. trade statistics analyzed by the Korea International Trade Association.

Cathode materials, cathode materials, and separators are key materials for secondary batteries, and while imports of battery materials in the United States nearly doubled, the share of China has decreased significantly and the share of Korea has increased sharply.

In 2020, China topped the list with 28.9%, Japan ranked second with 17.2%, and South Korea did not take the lead with 8.5%, but last year, South Korea and Japan formed a two-river structure with 33.7% and 26.4%, respectively, while China's share fell sharply to 8.4%.

This change comes amid the trend of global supply chain reorganization in the New Cold War between the U.S. and China, which is interpreted as an increase in the amount of materials used in Korea as three Korean batteries, including LG Energy Solution, SK On, and Samsung SDI, built large-scale factories in the U.S.

However, there are reports that the new U.S. administration of Donald Trump will come up with a plan to impose tariffs on secondary battery materials, pointing out that the government-centered enhancement of negotiating power with the U.S. has become important as South Korea can be the first subject of pressure.