Vehicle Manufacturer To Announce Massive U.S. Investment

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South Korean-based automotive manufacturer Hyundai will announce a $20 billion investment in U.S. onshoring.

The investment includes a $5 billion steel plant in Louisiana, which intends to hire approximately 1,500 employees and will produce “next-generation steel” to be used at the carmaker’s two U.S. auto plants to manufacture electric vehicles.

“The investment is expected to be announced Monday at the White House by President Donald Trump, Hyundai Chairman Euisun Chung and Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry,” CNBC noted.

WATCH:

Per CNBC:

Hyundai’s announcement comes as major international conglomerates are racing to dodge tariffs and avoid a trade war ahead of Trump’s April 2 tariff deadline. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Japan’s SoftBank are among the major foreign players that have visited the White House in the last two months to announce big U.S. onshoring plans.

Hyundai Motor CEO José Muñoz recently told Axios that the “the best way for [Hyundai] to navigate tariffs is to increase localization.”

The South Korean company is a top seller of electric vehicles in the U.S., competing directly with Tesla
. It already has two major automotive plants in the U.S., one in Alabama and the other in Georgia. Hyundai on Monday is also expected to announce the opening of a third automotive plant, also in Georgia.

South Korea is also among the countries with which the U.S. carries a trade deficit. In early March, Trump singled out South Korea for applying high tariffs to U.S. exports, saying the Asian ally’s tariffs were four times higher than those of the United States.

CNN reports:

Trump has already enacted 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, as well as levies on cars from Asia and Europe set to go into effect next month. The aim is to build more cars in the United States; however, it’s not that simple.

For example, Stellantis, which makes cars in North America under the Jeep, Ram, Dodge and Chrysler brands, agreed to re-open a shuttered plant in Illinois as part of a deal to end a 2023 strike by the United Auto Workers.

It pointed to those re-opening plans once again in January, soon after Trump took office, to assure him it would increase American car production. But that plant won’t reopen until 2027.



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