South Korean conglomerate Hyundai is the latest Asian business to promise more U.S. investment, as President Donald Trump threatens a wide array of new tariffs to bring manufacturing back to the U.S.
Hyundai announced it will invest $21 billion in American manufacturing, including a $5.8 billion steel plant in the state of Louisiana. The plant will create nearly 1,500 jobs and produce 2.7 million metric tons of steel a year, likely for Hyundai’s existing U.S. supply chain.
Chairman Euisun Chung said this was Hyundai’s “largest U.S. investment ever,” in a White House press conference alongside Trump and Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry.
Shares of Hyundai closed 3.3% higher in Asia trading on Tuesday.
Hyundai is also opening a $7.6 billion car and battery factory in Georgia, its third in the U.S. The Korean carmaker already has a plant in Alabama, and its affiliate Kia has one in Georgia. The new Hyundai plant will be able to produce 300,000 cars a year once fully operational, bringing the company’s total annual U.S. production capacity to 1 million.
Hyundai, together with Kia, is one of the country’s top-selling carmakers and is also the top selling EV manufacturer after market leader Tesla.
Trump’s tariff threat
Hyundai’s new CEO, Jose Munoz, has pointed to localization as the best way for the Korean carmaker to avoid new U.S. tariffs. Trump has threatened new reciprocal tariffs on a country-by-country basis starting April 2. South Korea, which enjoys a large trade surplus with the U.S., is high on the list of potential targets.
Since coming to office, Trump has imposed a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum products entering the U.S., and an additional 20% tariff on China.
The White House said Hyundai’s investment was “further proof that President’s Trump’s economic agenda is working”
Hyundai is the latest Asian business to commit to new U.S. investments.
Japanese carmaker Honda in January said it would increase its investment in three Ohio car plants by $300 million to expand their capability to build EVs, hybrids and internal combustion engine vehicles.
The world’s leading chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. announced earlier this month that it’s investing $100 billion to expand its operations in Arizona.
Taiwan’s Foxconn, the world’s largest contract manufacturer, is also reportedly investing over $140 million to expand AI server capacity in Texas.
Earlier this year, Japan’s Softbank announced a partnership with OpenAI and Oracle to eventually invest $500 billion to boost U.S.-based AI infrastructure.
