GM Korea holds meeting with gov't to discuss US tariffs: sources

GM Korea's President Hector Villarreal, center, Communications and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Yoon Myung-ok, left, and Vice President of Sales, Service, and Market Gustavo Colossi are seen in this photo taken on Feb. 2, 2024. Courtesy of GM Korea

GM Korea, the Korean unit of General Motors, held a meeting with government officials Thursday to discuss possible response to the Donald Trump administration's plan to impose auto tariffs, sources said.

GM Korea officials held a closed-door meeting with Deputy Trade Minister Park Jong-won and other officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy earlier in the day, the sources familiar with the matter said.

Details of the meeting were not immediately known, but the two sides are expected to have discussed the U.S. tariff scheme's impact on GM Korea's business.

After the Trump administration announced its plan to impose 25 percent duties on imported cars, market watchers speculated GM Korea may pull out of Korea.

If Washington's auto tariff plan is realized, GM Korea will likely suffer a big blow as its exports to the U.S. account for 85 percent of the company's overall sales.

In an investors conference on Jan. 29, GM Korea's chief financial officer Paul Jacobson reportedly said the company may need to consider relocating its manufacturing facilities if the U.S. tariffs become permanent. (Yonhap)