The South Korean Conglomerate Hyundai will announce an investment of $ 20 billion in the United States on the ground which includes a steel plant of $ 5 billion in Louisiana, according to people familiar with plans.
The factory is expected to hire around 1,500 employees and produce new generation steel which will be used by the two American automotive factories in Hyundai to manufacture electric vehicles. The investment should be announced on Monday at the White House by President Donald Trump, the president of Hyundai Euisun Chung and the governor of Louisiana Jeff Landry.
Hyundai’s announcement comes while the main international conglomerates rush to dodge prices and avoid a trade war before the prices of Trump’s April 2 prices. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and SoftBank in Japan are among the main foreign players who have visited the White House in the past two months to announce major plans on the United States.
The CEO of Hyundai Motor, José Muñoz, recently told Axios that “the best way for [Hyundai] To navigate the prices, it is increasing the location. “”
The South Korean company is one of the best sellers of electric vehicles in the United States, in competition directly with Tesla. He already has two large automotive factories in the United States, one in Alabama and the other in Georgia. Hyundai on Monday should also announce the opening of a third automotive factory, also in Georgia.
South Korea is also among the countries with which the United States has a trade deficit. In early March, Trump distinguished South Korea for applying high prices to American exports, saying that the Asian ally prices were four times higher than those in the United States.
Seoul challenged this imbalance. In 2024, the effective rate of South Korea on American imports was 0.79%because the two countries had a free trade pact, according to the South Korean government.
In response to the request for CNBC comments on the planned investment announcement, the White House sent a position on the social media X site of the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, saying: “More investments, more jobs and more money in the pockets of the American workers – all thanks to the economic policies of President Trump.”
Hyundai refused to comment.