Hyundai, Samsung Join Lee-Trump Summit As Autos And Chips Face Tariff Crossfire

South Korean firms could announce $150 billion in new U.S. projects, adding to Hyundai’s $21 billion and Samsung’s Texas chip plant, with a $350 billion fund and farm trade also in play.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung will meet U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday, with autos and semiconductors among the sectors most exposed to new U.S. tariffs.

The Trump administration’s new trade deal imposed a 15% tariff on imports from South Korea, a key supplier of cars, semiconductors, smartphones and machinery. Automobiles made up 10% of South Korea’s exports last year, while chips accounted for 21%, with exports totaling more than 40% of the economy, Bloomberg reported.

Lee will be joined by executives from Hyundai Motor, Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and LG Energy Solution. 

South Korean media reported that firms could announce up to $150 billion in new U.S. investments, adding to existing projects such as Samsung’s Texas chip plant and Hyundai’s $21 billion investment in vehicle and steel facilities.

The July 31 trade deal also created a $350 billion South Korean fund for U.S. projects. Trump said he would direct the investments, and 90% of the profits would return to the U.S., while Seoul stated that most of the fund would be in the form of loan guarantees, with less than 5% in equity. 

Of the total, $150 billion is earmarked for shipyards, and Lee will visit one in Philadelphia.

Agriculture is another flashpoint. Trump said South Korea would be “completely open” to U.S. farm goods, though Seoul excluded rice and beef as politically sensitive. Concessions on agriculture may be weighed against lower tariffs for autos and semiconductors.

Defense spending will also be discussed. Trump has pressed allies to pay more, calling South Korea a “money machine.” The country hosts 28,500 U.S. troops and plans to allocate 2.32% of its GDP to defense this year.

North Korea will be on the agenda as well. Trump met Kim Jong Un three times in his first term without curbing Pyongyang’s nuclear program, and Kim last week vowed a “rapid expansion” of his arsenal as U.S.-ROK military drills began. Analysts say engagement is unlikely unless drills are suspended and denuclearization dropped as a policy goal.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment was ‘bullish’ for the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) with ‘normal’ message volume, ‘neutral’ for the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) with ‘high’ volume, and ‘bullish’ for the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY) with ‘high’ volume.

SPY is up 10.8% year-to-date, QQQ has gained 12.2%, while EWY has surged 44.5%, outperforming both.

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