Korea seeks Australian lithium to secure US subsidies, sideline China

Seoul | Korean conglomerate Posco is scouring Australia for lithium investments that qualify for United States subsidies that are still reshaping the global electric vehicle supply chain amid the battery metal’s second reckoning.

US President Joe Biden’s flagship climate policy, the Inflation Reduction Act, offers electric carmakers tax breaks for sourcing components from the US and its free trade partners such as Australia and South Korea, instead of China.