Trump praises Hyundai, touts foreign investment at White House

U,S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday invited more than 20 executives from global companies — including Hyundai Motor Co., Japan’s SoftBank and Toyota, and U.S. firms like Nvidia, Johnson & Johnson, and General Electric — to the White House to discuss their investment plans in the U.S. market. Trump praised their decisions, claiming they demonstrated the success of his tariff policies.

At the event, Trump singled out Hyundai Motor CEO Jose Munoz first, saying, “Thank you.” He lauded the automaker’s $2.1 billion investment, calling it “beautiful” and saying it would create many jobs.

Trump also mentioned Samsung Electronics, which was not present, noting he had heard the company would build large-scale factories in the U.S. to counter tariffs. His comments appeared to reference remarks made a day earlier during Samsung’s first-quarter earnings call, where the company outlined its response to trade policies.

On that call, Samsung CFO Park Soon-chul, when asked about strategies to handle tariff uncertainties, said the company would consider shifting some production for its visual display (TV and home appliance) business to other global manufacturing sites if needed. Samsung currently operates a washing machine plant in South Carolina, a state where Trump enjoys strong political support.


Jeong-Soo Hong hong@donga.com