Biden highlights Hyundai announcement of $10B US investment

President Joe Biden tended to both business and security interests Sunday as he wraps up a three-day visit to South Korea, showcasing Hyundai’s pledge to invest at least $10 billion in electric vehicles and related technologies in the United States.

Economy 13:00 22.05.2022
Before visiting U.S. and South Korean troops monitoring the rapidly evolving North Korean nuclear threat, Biden said the U.S. was ready for any provocation that Kim Jong Un might deliver.
 
Hyundai’s investment includes $5.5 billion for an electric vehicle and battery factory in Georgia.
 
Appearing with Biden, Hyundai CEO Euisun Chung said Sunday his company would spend another $5 billion on artificial intelligence for autonomous vehicles and other technologies.
 
“Electric vehicles are good for our climate goals, but they’re also good for jobs," Biden said. "And they’re good for business.”
 
The major U.S. investment by a South Korean company is a reflection of how the U.S. and South Korea are leveraging their longstanding military ties into a broader economic partnership.
 
Biden said he was not concerned about any possible provocation by North Korea while he is touring the region.
 
“We are prepared for anything North Korea does," Biden said in response to a reporter’s question. "We’ve talked through how we’d respond to whatever they do so I am not concerned, if that’s what you’re suggesting.”
 
The U.S. president has made greater economic cooperation with South Korea a priority, saying on Saturday that “it will bring our two countries even closer together, cooperating even more closely than we already do, and help strengthen our supply chains, secure them against shocks and give our economies a competitive edge.”
 
The pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February has forced a deeper rethinking of national security and economic alliances. Coronavirus outbreaks led to shortages of computer chips, autos and other goods that the Biden administration says can ultimately be fixed by having more manufacturing domestically and with trusted allies.
 
Biden’s meeting Sunday with Hyundai’s chief comes after the president made an earlier stop at a computer chip plant run by Samsung, the Korean electronics giant that plans to build a $17 billion production facility in Texas.
 
Hyundai’s Georgia factory is expected to employ 8,100 workers and produce up to 300,000 vehicles annually, with plans for construction to begin early next year and production to start in 2025 near the unincorporated town of Ellabell.
 
But the Hyundai plant shows that there are also tradeoffs as Biden pursues his economic agenda.
 
The president earlier in his term tried to link the production of electric vehicles to automakers with unionized workers. As part of a $1.85 trillion spending proposal last year that stalled in the Senate, Biden wanted extra tax credits to go to the buyers of EVs made by unionized factories. That would have provided a boost to the unionized auto plant owned by General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis NV at a vital moment when union membership nationwide has been steadily decreasing.
 
During the Samsung visit, Biden called on Korean companies building plants in the U.S. to hire union workers. In addition to its coming Texas plant, Samsung has a deal in place with Stellantis to build an electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant in the U.S.
 
“I urge Samsung and Stellantis and any company investing in the United States to enter into partnerships with our most highly skilled and dedicated and engaged workers you can find anywhere in the world: American union members,” he said.
 
There so far has been no guarantee that the Hyundai Georgia plant’s workers will be unionized.
 
Katie Byrd, the press secretary for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, noted in an email that the state is “Right-to-Work,” which “means that workers may not be required to join a union or make payments to a union as a condition of employment.”
 
A Hyundai spokesperson did not respond to an email asking if the Georgia plant would be unionized. A senior Biden administration official, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity, said there was no contradiction between Biden encouraging investors to embrace union workforces while his administration does “whatever it can” to encourage investment and bring jobs to the U.S.
 
Before meeting Hyundai’s CEO, Biden attended Mass at his hotel in Seoul along with some White House staff. Biden will also meet with service members and military families at Osan Air Base and address U.S. and Korean troops. Biden and Korean President Yoon Sook Yeol on Saturday announced t hey will consider expanded joint military exercises to deter the nuclear threat posed by North Korea.
 
The push toward deterrence by Biden and Yoon, who is less than two weeks into his presidency, marks a shift by the leaders from their predecessors. President Donald Trump had considered scrapping the exercises and expressed affection for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. And the last South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, remained committed to dialogue with Kim to the end of his term despite being repeatedly rebuffed by the North.
 
Biden decided to skip a visit to the demilitarized zone on the North and South’s border, a regular stop for U.S. presidents when visiting Seoul. Instead, Biden, who had visited the DMZ as vice president, was more interested in visiting Osan to see an installation “where the rubber hits the road” for U.S. and South Korean troops maintaining security on the Korean Peninsula, said White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
 
Yoon campaigned on a promise to strengthen the U.S.-South Korea relationship. He reiterated at a dinner on Saturday in Biden’s honor that it was his goal to move the relationship “beyond security” issues with North Korea, which have long dominated the relationship.
 
“I will try and design a new future vision of our alliances with you, Mr. President,” Yoon said.
 
Biden heads to Tokyo later Sunday. On Monday, he will meet with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and lay out his vision for negotiating a new trade agreement called the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.
 
A central theme for the trip, Biden’s first to Asia as president, is to tighten U.S. alliances in the Pacific to counter China’s influence in the region.
 
But within the Biden administration, there’s an ongoing debate about whether to lift some of the $360 billion in Trump-era tariffs on China. Earlier this week, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said some of the tariffs are doing more harm to U.S. business and consumers than they are to China.
 
Sullivan said the president’s national security and economic teams were still reviewing “how to move beyond the trade approach of the previous administration.”
 
On Tuesday, Japan will host Biden at a summit for the Quad, a four-country strategic alliance that also includes Australia and India. The U.S. president will then return to Washington before he visits American troops that are monitoring the rapidly evolving nuclear threat from North Korea.

 

Azerbaijan takes measures to turn Khankandi into safe city - VİDEO

News line

About $7 bln of foreign direct investment was invested in Azerbaijan last year
12:00 29.03.2024
Number of people injured in Crocus City Hall terrorist attack reaches 382
11:48 29.03.2024
Media: Netanyahu rejected the Mossad Chief's proposal for a possible agreement in Gaza
11:37 29.03.2024
Azerbaijani Parliament's meeting kicks off
11:26 29.03.2024
An American couple founded a website, which identifies brands that support Israel
An American couple founded a website, which identifies brands that support Israel
11:07 29.03.2024
US scientists name infection more dangerous for brain than coronavirus
US scientists name infection more dangerous for brain than coronavirus
11:00 29.03.2024
Parviz Shahbazov: Foundations of 4 new renewable energy plants will be laid this year
Parviz Shahbazov: Foundations of 4 new renewable energy plants will be laid this year
10:50 29.03.2024
Japan eyes self-driving expressway lane network
10:40 29.03.2024
Oil prices end 1Q24 with strong growth
10:30 29.03.2024
SECRETS of the European Union's visit to the South Caucasus - Fikret Sadigov EXPLAINS
10:25 29.03.2024
Israeli strikes on Syria kill dozens, security sources say
10:20 29.03.2024
Ammunition found in Khankandi
Ammunition found in Khankandi
10:10 29.03.2024
Iran’s top diplomat: Military presence of third countries in Caspian Sea goes against interests of region
Iran’s top diplomat: Military presence of third countries in Caspian Sea goes against interests of region
10:00 29.03.2024
Armenia officially announces freezing its participation in CSTO
09:50 29.03.2024
US hopes to return to purchase of 72 fighter jets per year amid budget cuts
09:38 29.03.2024
Another 138 IDPs leave for Fuzuli
09:28 29.03.2024
Netanyahu: "We have strategic assets of Hamas"
09:17 29.03.2024
Date of next meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani Parliament Speakers announced
09:00 29.03.2024
Russia prepares for new offensive in May-June l – says Zelensky
23:52 28.03.2024
Russian investigators have evidence of Ukraine link to Crocus terrorists
22:24 28.03.2024
Committee members of the EU Council will visit the South Caucasus region
19:48 28.03.2024
Bayern to pay Thomas Tuchel 12M euro compensation
Bayern to pay Thomas Tuchel 12M euro compensation
19:00 28.03.2024
Crocus City Hall terrorists took drugs before attack - law enforcement agencies
Crocus City Hall terrorists took drugs before attack - law enforcement agencies
18:33 28.03.2024
Azerbaijan, UN Development Program mull future co-op
18:00 28.03.2024
An Independent Trade Union Established within International Eurasia Press Fund - First in NGO sector - PHOTOS
17:39 28.03.2024
Italian PM condemns Macron for idea of sending troops to Ukraine
Italian PM condemns Macron for idea of sending troops to Ukraine
17:23 28.03.2024
Azerbaijan lends clarity to color requirement for taxis
17:02 28.03.2024
Isaac Herzog: Israel has no greater friend than US, and US has no greater friend than Israel
Isaac Herzog: Israel has no greater friend than US, and US has no greater friend than Israel
16:45 28.03.2024
Nigerian army eliminates over 200 militants in 2 weeks
16:30 28.03.2024
Armored Vehicle Coalition for Ukraine launched in Poland
Armored Vehicle Coalition for Ukraine launched in Poland
16:15 28.03.2024
Russia strengthens transport security measures after terror attack at Crocus City Hall
Russia strengthens transport security measures after terror attack at Crocus City Hall
15:55 28.03.2024
Türkiye plays an important role between Russia and Ukraine - says political scientist Ismail Cingoz
15:45 28.03.2024
2 schoolchildren detained in France on suspicion of sending bomb threats
15:35 28.03.2024
Ski resort in Georgia hit by avalanche
Ski resort in Georgia hit by avalanche
15:26 28.03.2024
Another protest against French colonialism held in New Caledonia, Azerbaijani flag raised
Another protest against French colonialism held in New Caledonia, Azerbaijani flag raised
15:15 28.03.2024
Media: US did not transfer all information about terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall to Russia
15:00 28.03.2024
Movement ‘Together’ calls on Armenia’s parliamentary forces to express vote of no confidence in Pashinyan
14:41 28.03.2024
Azerbaijan to participate in international trade fair in Istanbul
Azerbaijan to participate in international trade fair in Istanbul
14:32 28.03.2024
Le Pen accuses French government of fraud
14:22 28.03.2024
Armenian Government Grapples with Internal Division on Village Return Issue - Ishkhan Verdiyan talks on Ednews
14:12 28.03.2024
Hamısı