Korean auto giant Hyundai to invest $21B in US, establish steel plant
File photo shows the Hyundai logo is displayed during the AutoMobility LA 2024 auto show at the Los Angeles Convention Center, U.S, on November 21, 2024. (AFP Photo)
Leading South Korean automobile manufacturer Hyundai revealed on Monday plans to invest $21 billion in U.S. manufacturing, including the establishment of a $5.8 billion steel plant.
The plant, which will be based in the US state of Louisiana, “will create 1,300 American jobs,” Hyundai executive chairman Euisun Chung told reporters at a White House event alongside President Donald Trump. The move will also serve “as the foundation for a more self-reliant and secure automotive supply chain in the U.S.,” he added.
Hyundai’s announcement makes it the latest firm to announce plans to invest billions of dollars into the United States since Donald Trump’s return to power in January, as the U.S. president has repeatedly threatened to impose painful tariffs on companies that do not relocate manufacturing jobs to the United States from overseas.
In response, domestic and foreign firms, including Apple and Oracle, have announced plans to invest hundreds of billions of dollars into U.S. projects over the next four years.
“Cars are coming to this country at levels never seen before,” Trump told reporters on Monday. The investment was “a clear demonstration that tariffs very strongly work,” he said.
“Hyundai will be producing steel in America and making its cars in America, and as a result, they’ll not have to pay any tariffs,” he added.
