US President Donald Trump said Sunday that he does not want to “frighten off” or “disincentivize” foreign investments, reiterating he wants foreign firms, which are building semiconductors, ships and other “complex” products, to bring their workers into the United States to train American workers.
Trump made the remarks in a social media post amid questions over US credibility as a reliable investment destination as more than 310 South Korean workers returned home on Friday following a week of detention after they were arrested in a recent immigration raid at a battery plant construction site in Georgia.
“I don’t want to frighten off or disincentivize Investment into America by outside Countries or Companies,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“We welcome them, we welcome their employees, and we are willing to proudly say we will learn from them, and do even better than them at their own ‘game,’ sometime into the not too distant future!” he added.
He said that he wants foreign tech firms to bring their skilled workers to teach US workers, though he did not elaborate on how his administration will address visa-related issues to enable them to stably deploy their employees to the US.
“When Foreign Companies who are building extremely complex products, machines, and various other ‘things,’ come into the United States with massive Investments, I want them to bring their people of expertise for a period of time to teach and train our people how to make these very unique and complex products, as they phase out of our Country, and back into their land,” Trump said.
“If we didn’t do this, all of that massive Investment will never come in the first place — Chips, Semiconductors, Computers, Ships, Trains, and so many other products that we have to learn from others how to make, or, in many cases, relearn, because we used to be great at it, but not anymore.”
The detention of the South Korean workers has raised questions over whether Seoul can stably fulfill its investment commitments.
As part of a trade deal with the US struck in July, South Korea made a commitment to investing $350 billion in the U.S. while underscoring its willingness to help revitalize the American shipbuilding industry through its proposed Make American Shipbuilding Great Again” project.
During a press conference, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung voiced concerns over the possibility that the immigration raid on a South Korean battery plant site could have a negative impact on Korean businesses’ future investment in the US.
“Under the current circumstances, I think that perhaps, Korean companies, which are making direct investments in the US, cannot help being hesitant (about their investment),” he said. (Yonhap)