Trump says Samsung plans large U.S. plant, but firm hasn't announced anything

U.S. President Donald Trump said that Samsung Electronics may build a large manufacturing facility in the United States, though the Korean tech giant has made no such announcement.

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks during an 'Investing in America' event at the White House in Washington April 30. [EPA/YONHAP]

U.S. President Donald Trump publicly said Wednesday that Samsung Electronics may build a large manufacturing facility in the United States, though the Korean tech giant has made no such announcement, prompting questions about the basis of his remarks.

"Even Samsung, whose name isn't mentioned here, but I heard that they announced this morning that they're going to be building a very big plant because they want to be able to beat the tariffs," Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House. "It's the only way to beat them."

Despite being mentioned twice in the span of a few hours, the company has yet to confirm any new U.S. investment plan. The silence has fueled speculation that Trump may have misinterpreted or overextended recent corporate statements.

A Samsung flag flutters in the wind outside the company’s Seocho office building in Seoul’s Seocho District on April 30. []NEWS1]

Twenty-three executives from global companies joined the meeting, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, SoftBank Group Chairman Masayoshi Son, Toyota North America President Ted Ogawa and Hyundai Motor President José Muñoz — all of whom have announced new investment plans following the launch of Trump’s second administration.

Park Soon-cheol, Samsung Electronics’ chief financial officer, said Tuesday during an earnings call that the company was considering shifting some of its TV and home appliance production in response to tariffs.

“We will expand premium product offerings and consider relocating a portion of production using our global manufacturing bases to mitigate the impact of tariffs,” he said.

Samsung currently operates a washing machine plant in Newberry, South Carolina, and manufactures TVs, refrigerators and dryers in Querétaro and Tijuana, Mexico.

Moving production volume from Mexico to the United States to avoid tariffs is one possibility, but it does not equate to building a new facility — contrary to what Trump implied.

A view of a Samsung Electronics factory in Bac Ninh province, Vietnam on April 3. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Some observers in Korea’s business sector believe Trump either misunderstood the company’s strategy or chose to frame it in a way that favors his policy agenda.

“In the current situation, companies are caught in a bind," an industry insider said. "When Trump singles them out like that, it inevitably creates a lot of pressure and confusion.”

The Korean government, for its part, is aiming to resolve the tariff issue in July after a new administration takes office, while Washington appears eager to show early results.

"We’re in a great position of strength,” Trump said during a town hall meeting hosted by NewsNation on Wednesday. “We’ll make great deals, and where we don’t make great deals, we’re just going to set the deals.”

The United States, meanwhile, is touting an investment by Taiwan’s TSMC, the world’s largest semiconductor foundry, to ramp up pressure on Korean chipmakers.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, in a separate appearance, highlighted TSMC's investment in Arizona.

"And we convinced the company, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation, TSMC, to build another $100 billion,” Lutnick told CNBC. "So it’s going to employ 40,000 people just to do the construction over the next four years, 40,000 people doing the construction, 165 billion of construction."

Samsung Electronics, which has pledged to invest more than $37 billion in the U.S. semiconductor sector by 2030, has nearly completed construction of a packaging plant in Taylor, Texas. But the company is adjusting the pace of the project as it monitors tariff developments and contract orders.

“We are closely monitoring the direction of U.S. semiconductor tariff policy,” Park said. “Based on various scenarios, we will continue reviewing response strategies.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff. BY PARK HAE-LEE [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]