Focus: Hyundai Steel's $6 bln US investment draws investor ire, tests Seoul's tariff strategy

Hyunjoo Jin - Reuters - 03:43
In late March, as investors kept hammering Hyundai Steel shares after the South Korean steelmaker announced a $6 billion investment in the U.S., the company organised a call with a dozen investors to calm nerves over the project that lacked detailed funding plans.
  • Hyundai Steel investors question feasibility, cost of US project
  • Hyundai Steel's hastily drawn-up investment plan hits its shares
  • Some experts question if deal would help Seoul win more favourable terms in US trade talks
SEOUL, April 23 (Reuters) - In late March, as investors kept hammering Hyundai Steel shares after the South Korean steelmaker announced a $6 billion investment in the U.S., the company organised a call with a dozen investors to calm nerves over the project that lacked detailed funding plans.
"We apologise that the plan was announced when some of the details are still under review," a Hyundai Steel (004020.KS), opens new tab official told them about the deal, part of a $21 billion U.S. investment package its parent Hyundai Motor Group unveiled at the White House on March 24.

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"But we had to move quickly in light of fast developing U.S. tariff situations and the limited capacity of our government to actively respond," he said, according to a transcript of the call seen by Reuters and confirmed by a person with direct knowledge of the closed-door meeting. The remark referred to the political vacuum stemming from former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment.
Four Hyundai executives and government officials told Reuters that they hoped the investment would pave the way for Hyundai and South Korea to push for more favourable terms in tariff negotiations with the U.S.
South Korean senior government officials are set to have talks with their U.S. counterparts in Washington on Thursday, as they seek exemptions or reductions on tariffs.
But some investors, trade experts and workers are concerned over whether the hastily drawn-up plan will actually help South Korea win trade concessions.
Two days after the White House event, President Donald Trump announced 25% tariffs on imported autos, with no exemptions on Korean products.
"What would be longer-term benefits as U.S. tariff and trade policies could change again when the new plant is up and running in 2029 and Trump wouldn't be in office any longer?" asked one investor on the call.
Other questions raised included why the plant would be built in Louisiana, which does not neighbour states where its client Hyundai Motor has auto plants, what concessions it is expecting from the U.S., and whether Hyundai would be able to ...
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