The most amazing thing about the actions of ICE against the South Carolina plant being built by the Koreans, was the gleeful commentary by ICE. According to the leader of ICE, the raid had followed from months of investigation against the company. The implication, is that this was not an accident but actually by design.
It’s hard to understand how America wins from this. Korea was well on its way to meeting Donald Trump’s expectation of massive investment in American manufacturing. It’s unclear how the bosses in Seoul Will react to the ice comment. However, the nearly 375 Korean workers are being deported and will be unable to return to the United States for at least a decade.
this is where it gets interesting. The Korea workers were there to install the machines that were to make the plan function. That means, that the Koreans no longer have the necessary staff to get the plant working. Depending on how much the Koreans have spent on the new plant, either they will slow down the construction dramatically, or simply shut it down and write off the investment as a bad idea
For the rest of foreign investors, considering the idea of building a plant in America, it’s a massive problem.
It gets worse, it seems that President Trump supported ICE’s action. The implication are, that Trump doesn’t understand what he’s doing. Where America goes from here is unclear.
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