Samsung, SK, Hyundai's investment plans fuel US trade pressure concerns

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix’s unprecedented 800 trillion won ($522.8 billion) investment plan for Korea's southwestern semiconductor belt is emerging as a critical test of their relationship with the United States, as experts and industry officials warn that Washington could intensify pressure on the Korean firms to expand manufacturing on U.S. soil. They said the Donald Trump administration, which has consistently used tariffs and trade policy to encourage foreign companies to invest in the U.S., is unlikely to view such massive domestic investment plans by the Korean chipmakers favorably. Earlier this year, Trump warned that memory chipmakers that failed to build manufacturing facilities in the U.S. could face tariffs of up to 100 percent, a remark widely interpreted as targeting Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. Although the proposed semiconductor tariffs have since been put on hold and have yet to be implemented, the measure remains a potential source of leverage in future trade negotiations between Seoul and Washington. Samsung Electronics is currently investing $37 billion t