JobsOhio CEO J.P. Nauseef, center, speaks during a press conference at The Plaza Seoul, Tuesday. On his left is JobsOhio Vice President Dana Saucier. Korea Times photo by Park Jae-hyuk

By Park Jae-hyuk

The U.S. state of Ohio has stepped up the promotion of its business-friendly environment to attract Korean manufacturers of electric vehicles (EVs), batteries and semiconductors, amid their rapid expansion in North America so as to comply with the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as well as the CHIPS and Science Act.

During Tuesday's press conference in Seoul, a delegation from Ohio's private economic development corporation, representing the state government to global investors, introduced various incentives to be granted to companies investing in the Midwestern state.

JobsOhio CEO J.P. Nauseef and Vice President Dana Saucier, both of whom paid their first visits to Korea, mentioned the recent decision of LG Energy Solution (LGES) and Japan's Honda to invest $4.4 billion to build their joint venture's EV battery factory in Ohio, as well as the Korean battery maker's earlier decision to build another battery factory there for its joint venture with General Motors.

Last week, U.S. President Joe Biden even described LGES' and Honda's commitment as "another win for America and another win for Ohio," connecting two Asian companies' investments to his administration's efforts to implement the IRA.

The IRA offers a tax credit to U.S. consumers of EVs with battery components that are manufactured or have final assembly in North America, with battery materials sourced from either the U.S. or countries that have FTAs with the U.S., so Korean carmakers that currently make their EVs in Korea have been concerned and are seeking ways to comply in order to benefit from the tax credit.

Korean government officials have also repeatedly expressed their concerns over the potential negative impacts of the IRA on Korea's automotive industry when they meet with representatives from the U.S. federal and state governments.

"We're aware of questions about the IRA, and the rules are still being written by our federal government partners," the JobsOhio CEO said. "We are very connected as is the state government through our governor, lieutenant governor and their administration in making sure that Ohio's interests and point of view are well known."

In order to convince Korean chipmakers to choose Ohio when they cope with the CHIPS Act, which is intended to restrain the growth of China's semiconductor industry, Nauseef also introduced Intel's latest decision to build foundry manufacturing plants in the state.

"With regard to the CHIPS Act, we, as an organization, JobsOhio, and the governor and the lieutenant governor of the state, advocated to our bipartisan congressional delegation in Washington to support the passage of the CHIPS Act," he said.

"Like the IRA, we understand the rules are still being written and negotiated, but currently, it's our understanding that if semiconductors, memory and other components are manufactured in the U.S., they will be able to benefit from the CHIPS Act," Nauseef said.

He added that the beneficiaries will also include Korean companies.