Hyundai Motor Group is preparing to announce a massive $20 billion investment plan in the United States—a strategic move aimed at expanding its production capacity and sidestepping potential tariffs under President Donald Trump’s new trade policies.
According to CNBC, Hyundai Motor Chairman Chung Eui Sun and Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry are set to announce the investment plan alongside President Trump at the White House on Monday. This will mark a South Korean company’s first major investment announcement since Trump’s second term began.
Of the $20 billion investment, $5 billion will go toward building a next-generation steel plant in Louisiana to be operated by Hyundai Steel, a Hyundai Motor Group subsidiary. The plant is expected to create around 1,500 jobs and supply steel for Hyundai’s two existing U.S. manufacturing facilities, which produce electric vehicles (EVs).
Hyundai has made it clear that expanding local investment in the United States is a strategic move to avoid tariffs imposed by Trump.
Hyundai CEO José Muñoz recently told Axios that “the best way for Hyundai to navigate tariffs is to increase localization.”
Other global companies entering the U.S. market are also adopting this strategy.
Taiwan’s TSMC and Japan’s SoftBank previously participated in a White House press conference with Trump, where each announced major U.S. investment plans.
As a leading electric vehicle manufacturer competing with Tesla, Hyundai’s increased investment in the U.S. is seen as a natural step to expand its market presence.
The company, which already operates two automobile plants in Alabama and Georgia, is expected to announce the opening of a third plant in Georgia at the White House on the same day.
The third plant is called Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA).
If Hyundai announces its $20 billion investment plan at the White House on this day, it will mark a Korean company’s first major investment plan since Trump’s second term began.
Meanwhile, Trump has reaffirmed his plan to implement reciprocal tariffs starting on the 2nd of next month.
On March 21, while stressing the need for “flexibility,” he stated firmly that reciprocal tariffs would be applied “without exception.”
Earlier this month, Trump specifically criticized South Korea for imposing high tariffs on U.S. exports, increasing the possibility that Korea will face sweeping reciprocal tariffs from the United States on April 2. Trump claimed that South Korea’s tariff rates are four times higher than those of the U.S.
The South Korean government has countered that, under the bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Korea’s effective tariff rate on U.S. imports is only 0.79%.
