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Trump hosts global executives at White House investment event, praises Hyundai, Samsung

Published: 01 May. 2025, 12:16

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

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday hosted executives from major global firms at the White House to highlight over $2 trillion in announced investments in the United States, using the event to praise his own tariff policies and economic agenda.

Speaking at an "Investing in America" event attended by more than 20 CEOs, Trump said, “The companies represented in this room have collectively announced more than $2 trillion in new investments, and we have a total of close to $8 trillion all told, and there's never been anything like that in this country."

He contrasted that figure with previous administrations, saying, “If you looked at the last administration, for four years they did maybe less than [$]1 [trillion]."

He credited his 2024 election victory and his administration’s “tariffs and other forms of incentives” for the surge in investment.

"Every new investment, every new factory and every new job created is a sign of strength in American economy and a declaration of confidence in America's future," he said. "We've never seen anything like this."

Trump also mentioned Korean tech giant Samsung, saying, “Even Samsung, whose name isn't mentioned here [...] announced this morning they are going to be building a very big plant to beat the tariffs.”

Earlier in the day, he had told Cabinet members that Samsung was planning a large-scale facility in the United States due to tariff pressure.

Hyundai Motor co-CEO Jose Munoz waves as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks about investing in America in the Cross Hall of the White House, Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Washington. [AP/YONHAP]

The president singled out Hyundai Motor President José Muñoz, thanking him directly and highlighting the company’s $2.1 billion investment announced last month at the White House. That investment includes a steel plant in Louisiana expected to create new jobs.

“Thank you very much, José. Beautiful,” Trump said.

He then went down the list of attending firms, naming each one — including Nvidia, Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly, General Electric, SoftBank and Toyota — and asking their CEOs to stand as he praised their respective investment commitments. “Thank you,” “amazing” and “fantastic,” he said repeatedly.

“They are coming into the United States because of the spirit, the tariffs and the incentives,” he declared.

Addressing recent concerns over a contraction in first-quarter GDP, Trump downplayed the figures.

“Core GDP —we're removing distortions from imports, inventories and government spending — was up 3 percent," he claimed, adding, "but this is Biden's economy because we took over on Jan. 20 and I think you have to give us a little bit of time to get moving."

He also said his administration would pass “the biggest tax cut ever approved" in the United States within weeks.

Turning to monetary policy, Trump took a swipe at U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, saying, “He should reduce interest rates. I understand rates a lot better than him. We should have interest rates go down and it would be positive."

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]