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The Latest: Evers says Foxconn wanted to change contract

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Latest on Wisconsin contract talks with Foxconn (all times local): 4:05 p.m. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers says in a letter to a top Foxconn Technology Group executive that the Taiwan-based company approached the state about renegotiating its contract, not the other way...

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Latest on Wisconsin contract talks with Foxconn (all times local):

4:05 p.m.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers says in a letter to a top Foxconn Technology Group executive that the Taiwan-based company approached the state about renegotiating its contract, not the other way around.

Republican legislative leaders have accused Evers of trying to undermine the deal by saying last week the contract was being renegotiated.

But Evers says in the Tuesday letter to Foxconn executive Louis Woo that Woo brought up wanting to change the contract during a meeting in March. Evers says Woo wanted to "better align the terms with the evolving project and global marketplace."

Evers says to his knowledge that was the first time Foxconn or the state talked about amending the contract.

The current deal would award Foxconn more than $4 billion in state and local tax credits for a display screen manufacturing factory and campus near Racine.

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12:13 p.m.

The head of Wisconsin's economic development agency is defending the state's contract with Foxconn Technology Group, even as Gov. Tony Evers says it's being renegotiated.

Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation CEO Mark Hogan told reporters Tuesday that "we have a solid contract" with Foxconn. He also defended how informed he's kept legislative leaders, saying he's told them what they need to know.

Hogan declined to answer a question from Democratic state Sen. Tim Carpenter during an informational hearing about the status of the contract. In speaking with reporters afterward, Hogan also refused to get into details about possible changes saying he doesn't talk about contract negotiations publicly.

Evers has said he doesn't think Foxconn will employ 13,000 people as it originally said it would. Hogan says, "They continue to make that commitment."