Remarks by President Biden in Assembly with the SK Team on Investments in American Production and Employment

Roosevelt Place
By using Teleconference

2:19 P.M. EDT
 
MR. DEESE:  Hello, Mr. President.
 
THE PRESIDENT:  How are you? 
 
Hey, Tony.  How are you, pal?
 
MR. CHEY:  Good day.  Sure, actually superior to see you. 
 
MR. DEESE:  So, Mr. President —
 
THE PRESIDENT:  I should really be sitting immediately to your correct.   I’m only a few hundred yards absent.  I apologize I’m not there.  (Laughter.)
 
MR. DEESE:  Yeah, Mr. — Mr. President, thank you for — thank you for signing up for us.
 
And as you know, we have the — we have the delegation from SK below.  We’re — we’re thrilled to have you below at the White Dwelling and to talk about this quite major announcement of investments that SK is earning right now. 
 
With your permission, Mr. President, I will just turn the floor to Chairman Chey to quick you and update you instantly on the announcement that they’re making now.  And then we can get into the discussion.
 
THE PRESIDENT:  It’s a big announcement.  Take as extended as you want, Tony.  (Laughter.)
 
MR. CHEY:  Thank you.  Yes, great afternoon, Mr. Biden — yeah, President Biden.  I know I communicate for the individuals of the South Korea in wishing you the speedy recovery.
 
And I would like to express that my honest gratitude for this opportunity to discuss our latest and long term cooperation in manufacturing important technologies in the U.S.
 
Thank you also, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Director of the National Financial Council Brian Deese, for your aid of our financial commitment in United States.
 
We are also grateful for the powerful partnerships we have formed throughout your — the administration, in Congress, and in several condition authorities — yeah — that have assisted make our investment decision come about.  
 
So, tomorrow we will commemorate 69 several years because the end of the Korean War.  So, the American and Korean relationship is deep and longstanding.  Our countries fought aspect-by-facet in the course of the horrible conflict, and now we have labored side-by-aspect to establish the technologies and infrastructures that will power the 21st century financial system all-around the globe. 
 
So, SK’s motivation to improve and invest in Korea is enduring.  But nowadays, however, we are here to chat about the expenditure in U.S.  So our cooperation will make the offer chain in each our international locations much more resilient in essential systems.  And the SK Team dedication to the United States operates deep, and we have backed that dedication with $22 billion of investment decision in U.S. in new a long time.
 
Currently, we are saying a further $22 billion in new expense in the U.S., so which include the big financial commitment in semiconductor EV batteries and biotechnology.
 
All this usually means that SK will spend in practically $30 billion going forward, expanding on our recent announcement of $7 billion financial investment in EV batteries.
 
And so, SK will spend the half of our overall investment decision sum in the U.S. in semiconductor ecosystem.  Properly, this funds will fund R&D packages in partnership with the leading American universities and restoration state-of-the-art packaging (inaudible) in the U.S.
 
Effectively, this initiatives will add to producing the next era of memory chips, which will gain the overall U.S. substantial-tech field.
 
So, President Biden, we share your commitment to inexperienced energy.  In addition to our new EV battery factories in Georgia, we will — we will be investing a lot more — $7 billion much more out of the whole, our JV expense amount of money — up to $14 billion — to create two new gigafactory in Tennessee and Kentucky as a aspect of our joint venture with the Ford Motor Firm.
 
So we will make investments an extra $5 billion in other green power companies, like the extremely-rapid EV charging technique, the environmentally friendly hydrogen, and battery resources, recycling, and also tiny modular reactors.
 
Also, our investment will develop our facility in the U.S. in bioscience and biopharmaceutical sectors.  We feel our initiatives will contribute to reinforce the U.S. source chain resilience and to tackle the local climate transform. 
 
So we are sincerely grateful to your administration’s continued aid in our shared prosperity. 
 
Thank you, Mr. President.
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, Tony, and to your delegation.  This is — as anyone after claimed in a identical circumstance, this the large deal.  (Laughter.)  This is truly, really consequential.
 
And, you know, I’m sorry, as I stated, I’m not with you in man or woman, but I needed to make certain that — to personally thank you for this historic announcement.
 
You know, this pathbreaking announcement signifies clear proof that the United States, Korea, and its allies are back again and winning the engineering level of competition of the 21st century.
 
For individuals at house, the SK Group is the 2nd-biggest conglomerate in South Korea.  And because I’ve been President, it has designed significant investments in United States. 
 
SK has currently committed $30 billion in investment decision in this article, and today they’re asserting one more $22 billion in addition.  That’ll improve their U.S. workforce from 4,000 to 20,000 employees by 2025, investing in a assortment of innovative systems, some of which Tony already talked about, from semiconductors to substantial-capability batteries, to electrical motor vehicle chargers, and to pharmaceuticals. 
 
And partnering with iconic American company, like Ford and Intel, it is just amazing.  Further more proof that The us is open for small business.  Evidence that we’re meeting the unexpected emergency and the local climate disaster with urgency and prospect and innovation to save the planet and develop fantastic-paying jobs to gain the two our nations around the world.
 
We’re investing much more than $1 trillion in the United States to modernize our infrastructure, including 500,000 electrical charging stations across The usa.
 
Considering the fact that I arrived to business, we have noticed far more than $200 billion in personal sector strength investments in electrical motor vehicles, highly developed batteries, and semiconductors.  Design of over-all manufacturing facilities in America has greater by 116 p.c.  And this is only likely to include to that, Tony.  Thank you.
 
And the building in America signifies employment for Us residents.  Since I’ve been in office environment, the economic system has made 613,000 general production positions — just producing employment.
 
Today’s announcement is also evidence that America is back again to doing work with our allies.
 
By uniting our competencies and innovation, we will be able to manufacture the technologies that build the crucial modifications that are required each for our — for each our countries.
 
For the duration of my go to to South Korea in Could, when I got to sit at the table throughout from Tony — and it was a crowded area — I toured Samsung’s campus with President Yoon, and I saw how the manufacturing unit there is production superior semiconductor chips and is committing $17 billion to develop a identical manufacturing unit below in The united states.
 
In Seoul, I fulfilled with the Chairman of Hyundai, and we announced — as we introduced $10 billion in new investments in America — American manufacturing, together with a $5.5 billion investment for an sophisticated automotive manufacturing unit around Savannah, Georgia, wherever — where by SK is also going to be investing and produce — developing a lot more than 8,000 jobs.
 
In the previous, these types of technological know-how investments went to China.  These days, below my administration, these technologies investments are coming to the United States.  We’re talking about some of the most considerable investments we have at any time viewed in our state.
 
The united states is the key place for highly developed systems, and it is the sort of — it is that form of proactive engagement that reminds me 1 of the gains of investing in the United States, and that is the option to lover with some of the most remarkably expert, dedicated, and engaged staff in the world: American union members. 
 
Now, glance, just yesterday, I fulfilled with users of my financial and nationwide protection groups and CEOs and labor leaders to highlight the urgency of finding the bipartisan CHIPS Act to my desk.
 
And today, the Senate took a incredibly important bipartisan step to get us closer.  They, in truth — they, in point, achieved the cloture requirement, and obtaining that monthly bill to my desk is considerably nearer now.  Because this definitely issues.
 
Let me — permit me shut with this: You know, Tony, you and your crew, I want to thank you for getting here at the White Residence.  And again, I truly feel so poorly — I’m so near to you, but due to the fact I’m in the final working day of possessing been diagnosed with COVID — I’m experience excellent I hope it comes throughout that way as well.  I hope I glimpse as good as I feel in this article. 
 
But you know — and you are — (laughter) — properly, you know what I indicate.  That sounded off a little bit.  (Laughter.)  I never seem that great.  I hope I glimpse as good as I usually do, which is not that fantastic.  (Laughter.)
 
Hey, appear, but — (laughs) — but I want to thank you once again for remaining at the White Residence and for your expense in American staff, our greatest source.
 
And, Tony, as you begin the relaxation of the meeting today, what extra do you think we can do to keep this momentum likely?
 
MR. CHEY:  Thank you, Mr. President.  And it is seriously my pleasure currently being right here even though you are not in particular person with me, but near enough.  (Laughter.) 
 
THE PRESIDENT:  I can stroll out on the balcony and holler to you.  (Laughter.)
 
MR. CHEY:  But you certainly really don’t have to provide us on investing in the U.S. for the reason that we already fully commited about $30 billion and $22 billion in a pipeline. 
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Yep.
 
MR. CHEY:  Nicely, we produced tens of hundreds of remarkably compensated and really proficient employment.  But we think — our look at is the United States is our most critical organization husband or wife.  But one matter we can operate collectively is making a skillful workforce.  That would be the essential for guaranteeing that The usa has a sort of worker vital to direct the next technology — the manufacturing economic system.
So, we will get the job done intently with the state and local community schools to enable guarantee that workers know what they need to have to know to lead jobs in our facility.  The federal, condition, and the nearby coordination, and the deep financial commitment in career education, would assistance other providers to find the skillset they will need and spend a lot more in — in this article in U.S. as effectively.

So we glimpse ahead to doing the job with you, Mr. President, and — on advancing the workforce, the training in the coming a long time.

That’s a person issue.  But in this article is one more items that I want to mention to you as nicely: I’d like to actually emphasizing some partnerships amongst the firm and the nonprofit group in U.S. and Korea.  So we believe that the collaboration amongst the group of the two nations will encourage them to commit a lot more throughout the border.

So, for case in point — I will give you some — some examples that SK worked intently with Novavax as a — the pharma — U.S. pharmaceutical business to acquire the produ- — generate the COVID-19 vaccine.

THE PRESIDENT:  Sure.

MR. CHEY:  So, as a final result of the co-investing in R&D and the manufacturing capacity.

A person other case in point is, as a latest matter, is SK is also partnering with the Gates Basis and the College of Washington to build the new COVID vaccine.  This is a new 1.

THE PRESIDENT:  Certainly.

MR. CHEY:  So this is a variety of established collaboration product that can booster the investing in the U.S.

So, Mr. President, and we glance ahead to doing work with you — this fostering these a variety of partnership with you. 
 
Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT:  Effectively, it is a partnership.  And we’ve been associates a lengthy time.  And — and as we — I assume about it, I can try to remember the photos of my uncle — anyway, from folks getting sent from Korea back home when I was a kid, about (inaudible) associates a extended time.

And, seem, one particular of the factors that I promise you we’re going to do is we’re likely to keep on to make investments in the training side of this to have — so you have the finest educated, the ideal equipped staff in the planet.  I really imply it.  And particularly with regard to our community faculties, which have good belongings to deliver to the — deliver to bear.

And I consider that — I just see this as the beginning of — of so lots of extra points we can do.  And I can see that — that the Secretary is smiling, and she thinks it is the commencing also.  And I’m heading to depart it to you fellas to talk about.

But anyway, thank you, all 3 of you.  And once more, I apologize for not getting with you.  Upcoming time you appear, I’m heading to pressure you to have lunch with me in the Oval Business office so you can see what we — what I really do not do.  You know?  I mean, the Oval Business office is beautiful, but we — I received — I’m all the way in excess of below I can’t even be near you.

So at any price, many thanks once again for every thing.  I glimpse forw- — I genuinely mean this: The way you treated our delegation when we’ve gone to Korea, to the Republic the way you have — we have hung with each other on foreign coverage as a issue of domestic and financial policy — I know which is not your responsibility.  But your — but your nation has stepped up as an great, monumental asset and ally.

So thank you, thank you, thank you.

2:36 P.M. EDT