사진 확대

Hyundai Motor Group announced on the 24th (U.S. local time) that it will invest a total of 21 billion dollars (about 31 trillion won) in the U.S. by 2028. "This investment is solid evidence that tariffs are very effective," President Trump said. "Hyundai Motor produces steel and automobiles in the United States, and as a result, it will not be subject to tariffs."

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun announced that he will invest $8.6 billion in automobile production, $6.1 billion in parts, logistics and steel, and $6.3 billion in future industries and energy over the next four years at a presentation event presided over by U.S. President Donald Trump in the Roosevelt Room of the White House.

"The key part of this investment is to strengthen the supply chain in the U.S. to the steel, parts, and automobiles sectors," Chairman Chung said. "In particular, the Louisiana steel mill will create 1,300 jobs for Americans and serve as the basis for building an independent auto supply chain in the U.S."

"We will purchase $3 billion worth of U.S. LNG to support the U.S. energy industry and strengthen energy security," he said. "All these efforts will contribute to accelerating localization of supply chains in the U.S. and expanding businesses to increase jobs in the U.S."

In response, President Trump said, "Hyundai Motor's completely new steel mill in Louisiana will produce more than 2.7 million tons of steel annually and create jobs for more than 1,400 U.S. steel workers," adding, "There will be greater expansion after that."

"The Louisiana steel mill is the first steel mill built in the United States by Hyundai Motor, one of the largest companies in the world," he said. "Hyundai's Alabama and Georgia plants will produce more than 1 million U.S. cars every year."

He also reiterated, "There are no tariffs if we produce products in the United States," adding, "There are many companies and factories coming in that we didn't even think about entering the United States in the past."

On this day, Chairman Chung asked President Trump to visit the manufacturing facility. "I hope the president will visit one of our state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities to see for himself our commitment to the United States and American workers. We are proud to create a future with you," he said.

In response, President Trump said, "Hyundai Motor is a great company," adding, "Congratulations and we will do everything we can."

According to Hyundai Motor, the company plans to increase the production capacity of Hyundai Motor Group Meta Plant America (HMGMA), the third plant in the U.S., which will open soon in the automobile production sector, by 200,000 units to secure more than 1.2 million units per year in the U.S.

In addition, it will build a 2.7 million ton-per-year electricity steel mill in Louisiana in parts, logistics, and steel. The plant is a steel mill specializing in low-carbon automotive steel sheets that manufactures vehicle steel materials to be produced at Hyundai Motor Group's plant in the United States.

In addition, it will cooperate with leading U.S. companies related to future new technologies such as autonomous driving, robots, artificial intelligence (AI), and future aviation mobility (AAM) in the future industries and energy sectors, and speed up commercialization of Hyundai Motor Group's U.S.-based subsidiaries Boston Dynamics and Supernull. Hyundai Motor Group's new investment plan in the U.S. is the first large-scale investment plan among Korean companies since the inauguration of Trump's second term.

In particular, President Trump, who is in the "tariff war," is scheduled to announce "mutual tariffs" on the 2nd of next month, considering tariff rates and non-tariff barriers to each country, which can be seen as part of the "Trump Tariff" countermeasures by Korean exporters, including Hyundai Motor.

While President Trump is expected to impose high mutual tariffs on countries with large trade surplus with the U.S., including South Korea, major exporters around the world are continuing to invest in U.S. production in the U.S. in response to the U.S. demand to "increase facility investment if you want to avoid tariffs."

In particular, steel, which will be produced at Hyundai Motor Group's new plant in Louisiana, is an item that President Trump has imposed 25% tariffs on foreign products since the 12th. Korea's existing tariff-free export quota to the U.S. was also abolished on the same day.