From Steel to Autos in the US... Surpassing the 50% Tariff Wall

[Anchor]

Hyundai Steel and POSCO are investing 8 trillion won to build a large-scale steel mill in Louisiana, USA. The strategy is to produce everything from steel to automobiles locally in the United States to overcome the 50% steel tariff wall.

Reporter Choi Seung-hun has the details.

[Reporter]

Donaldsonville, Louisiana, USA.

Land preparation work is underway to build a steel mill on a 7.37 million-square-meter site, equivalent to 2.5 times the size of Yeouido.

Hyundai Steel, POSCO, and others are investing 5.8 billion dollars, approximately 8 trillion won, to produce 2.7 million tons of steel annually starting in 2029.

This is a core project of the Hyundai Motor Group's 26 billion dollar investment initiative in the United States.

[Kim Jung-kwan / Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy: This project goes beyond simply building a steel mill. It is a symbol of South Korea-US industrial cooperation.]

This facility will operate an electric arc furnace process that produces everything from iron ore to automotive steel sheets in one go for the first time in the US.

By utilizing natural gas-based technology, carbon emissions can also be reduced by about 70% compared to traditional blast furnaces.

The produced steel sheets will be supplied to Hyundai Motor's Alabama plant and Kia's Georgia plant, among others.

While South Korea previously exported Korean steel to manufacture automobiles in the US, a supply chain stretching from steel production to finished vehicles will now be established locally in the US.

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung stated that the steel produced here could even be used for the humanoid robot Atlas and other US automakers.

[Euisun Chung / Executive Chair, Hyundai Motor Group: Steel produced here will contribute to Hyundai Motor Group and other car manufacturers building next-generation mobility.]

As the United States levies a 50% tariff on foreign steel, local production will also allow them to avoid the tariff burden.

[Kim Hyun-seok / Trade Policy Analysis Team, Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade: There is the purpose of reducing the clear cost of tariffs, and since they are weighing the net benefits such as tax incentives at overseas production bases....]

However, as large-scale investments head overseas, maintaining domestic employment and production foundations remains a task to be addressed.

(Video Editing: Kim Jong-mi, Design: Kang Yoon-jung, Footage courtesy of Hyundai Steel)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.