Hyundai Motor Group will invest $21 billion in the United States over the next four years, the White House announced Monday, including a $5.8 billion steel mill coming to Louisiana.
The South Korean automaker’s first steel mill in the U.S. will create about 1,300 jobs and output more than 2.7 million metric tons of steel each year, President Donald Trump said during a ceremony attended by both Hyundai and Louisiana representatives. The jobs the plant will create are said to have an average salary of $95,000, according to a Louisiana Economic Development (LED) press release.
The steel will support the company’s manufacturing plants in Alabama and Georgia. The mill will sit on approximately 1,700 acres in Donaldsonville, Louisiana, anchoring a business development megapark in Ascension Parish. LED estimates the project could result in as many as 4,100 additional, indirect jobs. Construction is expected to start in the third quarter of 2026.
While the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported the outline of the deal between Hyundai and Louisiana was agreed to in December, the announcement comes a little more than a week after Trump imposed 25% tariffs on steel. Trump said he has plans for another wave of tariffs to hit April 2, with some targeting the auto industry to come before then — a move that’s shifted Japanese automakers away from optimism for the new Trump Administration to concern, according to the New York Times.
“This is a clear demonstration that tariffs very strongly work,” Trump said. “There are no tariffs if you make your product in America.”
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry was at the White House for the announcement and credited Trump for the deal by saying it was reached by telling Hyundai executives “we’re going to have a great president this year.” The state’s incentive package for the mill includes a $100 million performance-based grant for infrastructure, according to LED.
“This announcement makes clear that Louisiana’s manufacturing sector is roaring back, thanks to our historic tax reforms, our business-friendly approach and the many competitive advantages our state has to offer international powerhouses like Hyundai,” Landry said in a press release.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, center, walks outside the White House, Monday, March 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Hyundai will also work with the Port of South Louisiana to build a deep water dock for the steel and material shipments. Other accommodations being made for the mill include Entergy Louisiana planning transmission projects to provide additional load-serving capacity for the project and nearby community colleges partnering with LED to develop a local workforce training center.
Steel production tends to be one of the most carbon-intensive manufacturing processes, producing about 7% of carbon dioxide emission globally. It’s also part of a broader industrial sector that accounted for 30% of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. in 2021, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Hyundai Steel Company said it plans to use an electric arc furnace at the mill, which is expected to produce 70% lower emissions compared with traditional furnaces.
No permit appears to have been filed or found for Ascension Parish in the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality’s database. At the White House meeting, President Trump told Hyundai executives they’d have “no trouble” getting necessary permits for the site.
Hyundai Executive Chairman Euisun Chung said the $21 billion is the company’s largest investment into the U.S. in its history. Of that investment, $6 billion would be for strengthening the U.S. supply chain, including for steel and parts.
“With your leadership, Mr. President, Hyundai Motor Group is proud to be a stronger partner in America’s future,” Chung said.
Landry was joined at the announcement by a group of Louisiana politicians including: U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Louisiana House Speaker Phillip DeVillier, Louisiana Senate President Cameron Henry, Louisiana Rep. Ken Brass, Louisiana Sen. Eddie Lambert and Ascension Parish President Clint Cointment.
The South has been the center of foreign car manufacturing in the U.S. since the 1980s, with Alabama alone hosting five assembly plants, including Hyundai. Foreign automakers have invested heavily in the region for decades, attracted by massive incentive packages from states and the promise of a union-free workforce.
The Gulf States Newsroom’s Orlando Flores Jr. and WWNO’s Halle Parker contributed to this report.
This story was produced by the Gulf States Newsroom, a collaboration between Mississippi Public Broadcasting, WBHM in Alabama, WWNO and WRKF in Louisiana and NPR.
