Hyundai Motor CEO hails Korea-US tariff deal

Hyundai Motor Company CEO Jose Munoz speaks during the 2025 FISITA World Mobility Conference in Barcelona, Spain, June 3. Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Company

Hyundai Motor Company CEO Jose Munoz on Friday praised the tariff agreement between Korea and the United States, saying the deal will reinforce Hyundai’s localization strategy and collaboration between its operations in the two countries.

Munoz wrote on LinkedIn that the deal, which was announced a day earlier to lower tariffs on Korean auto imports to the U.S. to 15 percent, provides “clarity and predictability for our business moving forward.”

“This framework reinforces our localization strategy while maintaining the seamless collaboration between our Korean design, engineering, and manufacturing teams and our American manufacturing operations,” he wrote. “It's exactly the kind of predictable environment that allows us to execute our long-term plans.”

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun, second from left, delivers remarks as U.S. President Donald Trump looks on in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, March 24. AP-Yonhap

In March, Hyundai Motor Group announced it will invest $21 billion in the U.S. by 2028, in what appeared to be a preemptive move to cushion the impact from U.S. auto tariffs. The Trump administration initially proposed a 25 percent tariff on Korean manufactured vehicles, but lowered it as part of the two countries’ agreement to set "reciprocal" tariffs to 15 percent.

“The agreement reinforces Hyundai Motor Group’s investment strategy and our commitment to creating more than 100,000 direct and indirect American jobs,” Munoz wrote.

“From our new Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America facility in Georgia, our expanded Alabama operations at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, our teams in Michigan, our North American headquarters in California and our planned steel facility in Louisiana, we're continuing to expand our integrated American manufacturing ecosystem.”

Munoz also noted that the agreement also secures “a bright future” for Hyundai Motor Group’s Korean operations. He said the group’s Namyang R&D Center in Gyeonggi Province is developing the breakthrough designs and technologies that power Hyundai Motor’s American operations, creating a seamless collaboration between Korean engineering excellence and U.S. manufacturing capability.

“For decades, Hyundai has been a driver of growth and innovation on both sides of the Pacific,” the CEO wrote. “This agreement ensures that the partnership will continue flourishing, with predictable frameworks that benefit workers and communities in both nations.”