The massive raid on a South Korean battery plant in Georgia comes up against the president’s push for more foreign investment.
President Trump’s push for more foreign investment in America may face new hurdles after the United States stunned allies last week by arresting hundreds of South Korean workers at a battery manufacturing plant in Georgia in the administration’s largest immigration raid yet.
Trump called for more foreign investment in a social media post Sunday that addressed the raid, saying companies were welcome to invest in the country if they respect U.S. immigration laws.
But foreign companies may think twice about heeding Trump’s call as fallout continues from the massive immigration raid Thursday on an electric vehicle battery plant in Georgia, analysts said.
The raid, which was carried out by hundreds of federal, state and local law enforcement officials, took place just weeks after Trump held a summit with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, and after South Korea — a close U.S. ally — pledged to invest $350 billion in the U.S. as part of a deal reached in July to avoid higher tariffs.
«Allies are receiving mixed signals. The South Korea case has made countries like Japan and even EU nations nervous», said Andrew Yeo, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
«The Trump administration probably wanted shock value to teach other countries a lesson, but the timing and optics look terrible», Yeo added.
