Hyundai Motor Group announced that it will invest in the U.S. about USD 26 billion until 2028, following the meeting between South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump at Washington D.C.
The conglomerate promised to build a new steel mill in Louisiana and expand auto production and a robotics facility to be able to build 30,000 units per year, which would add 25,000 new jobs. Back in March, Hyundai Motor originally planned to invest only USD 21 billion.
The announcement of additional investment came only a few hours after Lee and Trump held their first summit. The two leaders discussed several topics, from Trump’s promise to purchase South Korea’s ships to optimism regarding collaboration on North Korea and enhancing broader collective security efforts.
Besides Hyundai Motor, other South Korea companies also announced their initiatives following the summit. Korean Air Lines Co stated that it will purchase 100 Boeing Co jets worth about USD 36.2 billion, while Korea Gas Corp vowed to purchase more LNG.
South Korea and the U.S. relations have improved significantly, despite Trump’s previous threat to impose a 25% tariff rate on this East Asian nation. As part of a deal to reduce the tariff rate to the current 15%, South Korea promised to invest about USD 350 billion in the U.S., with USD 150 billion of which will go to the American shipbuilding industry.
