Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he has learned South Korean conglomerate Samsung Electronics Co. plans to construct "massive" facilities in the United States, attributing this decision to his administration's tariff policies. The statement was made during a Cabinet meeting where Trump highlighted his policy successes within the first 100 days of his presidency.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Trump asserted that Samsung's decision is a direct result of the tariffs imposed by his administration. During a meeting at the White House, he stated, "If we didn't do the tariffs, they wouldn't be doing that." Trump further emphasized his point by mentioning Samsung at a gathering with business leaders who have intentions of investing in the United States. He claimed that Samsung intends to build a significant plant to circumvent the tariffs.
Samsung Electronics had earlier mentioned, on Wednesday (Seoul time), that it is considering moving some of its television and home appliance production to the United States to lessen the impact of the new tariffs implemented by the Trump administration. This statement aligns with Trump's efforts to utilize import taxes to enhance federal revenue, attract foreign investments, boost domestic manufacturing, and reduce America's trade deficits. Trump reiterated that companies manufacturing their products in the U.S. would not be subject to tariffs.
The announcement came on the heels of a report from the Commerce Department indicating that the U.S. gross domestic product contracted by 0.3 percent annually in the first quarter of the year. This decline marks the worst economic performance in three years, with the new tariffs contributing to the economic downturn.
In response to the economic report, Trump took to social media to attribute the unfavorable numbers to his predecessor, Joe Biden, urging patience as the tariffs take effect. On Truth Social, Trump wrote about the anticipated economic recovery, asserting that the current issues are unrelated to the tariffs but rather a result of the "bad numbers" left by Biden. He expressed confidence that once the effects of the tariffs are fully realized, the U.S. economy would experience unprecedented growth.