Seoul – The immigration raid that snatched hundreds of South Koreans last week sent a disconcerting message to companies in South Korea and other places: the United States wants its investment, but does not expect a special treatment.
The images of employees who are chained and detained as criminals have outraged many South Koreans. The consequences already feel in delays in some large investment projects, said executives and analysts of the automotive industry. Some predicted that some companies could also think twice before investing in the United States.
“Companies cannot afford the luxury of not being more cautious to invest in the United States in the future,” said Lee Ho-Guen, an expert in the automotive industry at the University of Daeduk, “in the long term, especially if things get worse, this could make automotive companies move away from the United States market and more to other places such as Latin America, Europe or the Middle East.”
The raid last week, in which more than 300 South Korean citizens were arrested, attacked a factory place in Ellabell, Georgia, owned by HL-GAG Battery Co., a joint company between Hyundai and the South Korean battery manufacturer, LG Energy Solutions to supply batteries for electric vehicles. The Georgia factory is also expected to supply batteries for KIA, which is part of the Hyundai motor group. Kia has spent hundreds of millions of dollars in her factory in West Point, GA.
“This situation highlights the competitive political priorities of the Trump administration and has many in Asia scratching her head, asking: 'What is more important to the United States?” The images of hundreds of Korean workers are treated as criminals are playing throughout Asia and do not coincide with the vision of President Trump to bring high quality and advanced manufacture of return to the United States. “
A protester uses a mask of President Trump in a demonstration on Tuesday in Seoul against the arrest of South Korean workers in Georgia. The signs require “immediate and apologies of Trump.”
(Ahn Young-Joon / Associated Press)
South Korea is one of the largest commercial partners in the United States, with the two countries that exchange $ 242.5 billion in goods and services last year. The United States is the main destination for investments abroad at South Korea, which receives $ 26 billion last year, according to the South Korean Finance Ministry.
Trump depends on ambitious projects such as the one he attacked in Georgia to revive American manufacturing.
Hyundai is one of the South Korean companies with the highest commitments with the US.. He sold 836,802 vehicles in the United States last year.
California is one of its largest markets, with more than 70 dealers.
Earlier this year, the company announced additional $ 26 billion to build a new steel factory in Louisiana and update its existing automotive plants.
Hyundai's expansion plans were part of the promise of $ 150 billion that South Korea made last month to help persuade Trump to establish tariffs on Korean products at 15% instead of 25% they had announced previously.
Samsung Electronics announced that it would invest $ 37 billion to build a semiconductor factory in Texas. Similarly, great sums of the South Korean naval builders are expected.
Analysts and executives say that the recent raid is making companies feel exposed, even more because US officials have indicated that more repressions are coming.
“We are going to do more work site compliance operations,” the Border Advisor of the White House, Tom Homan, said on Sunday. “No one hires an illegal foreigner of the goodness of his heart. They are hired because they can work them more, pay them less, undermine the competition that hires US citizen employees.”
Many South Korean companies have prohibited all trips related to work to the US. Or they are reminding the staff already there, according to local media reports. According to reports, construction work in at least 22 US factory sites have stopped.
The Korea Economic Daily newspaper reported Monday that 10 of the 14 companies he contacted said they were considering adjusting their projects in the United States due to Georgia's raid.
It is an important problem for large planned projects, analysts say. South Korean companies involved in US manufacturing projects. They say they need to bring their own engineering equipment to start the factories, but obtaining appropriate work visas for them is difficult and requires a lot of time. The option that is often used to avoid this problem is an illegal shortcut, such as the use of the electronic system for travel authorization, or this, a non -labor permit that allows tourists to remain in the country for up to 90 days.
Unlike countries such as Singapore or Mexico, South Korea does not have an agreement with Washington that guarantees work visas for specialized workers.
“The United States continues to ask for more investments in the country. But it doesn't matter how many people we end up hiring locally later, there is no way to bring South Korean experts so that things take off,” said a manager of a subcontractor of LG Energy Solution who asked not to be named. “But now we can't use these as we did in the past. “
Trump pointed out the problem on his social media platform, publishing that he will try to facilitate that South Korean companies bring the people they need, but reminding them that “respect the immigration laws of our nation.”
“Your investments are welcome, and we recommend that you legally bring your very intelligent people … and we will do it quickly and legally possible to do it,” said the publication.
Sydney Seiler, main advisor and president of Korea at the Center for Strategic and International Studies based in Washington, said the moment of the raids was an “irritating”, but that South Korean companies would eventually adjust.
“The rectification is a challenge for all those involved, the companies, the embassies that broadcast visas, etc.” said Seiler, and added that the raids will make other companies be more careful in the future.
