South Korean Companies Halt Georgia Investments After Ice Raid

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Happy Monday! It's September 8, 2025, and this is The Morning Shift — your regular roundup of nan apical automotive headlines from astir nan world, successful 1 place. This is wherever you'll find nan astir important stories that are shaping nan measurement Americans thrust and get around.

In this morning's edition, we're looking astatine nan fallout from ICE's ambush astatine Hyundai's Georgia factory-to-be, arsenic good arsenic Volkswagen's headstrong attempts to push done nan aforesaid threat. Plus, Tesla's marketplace stock continues to crater, and Canada's EV instruction could beryllium nan adjacent unfortunate of nan world waste and acquisition war. 

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Last week, a ambush by Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained 475 workers astatine an under-construction Hyundai works successful Georgia. We now cognize that nan immense mostly of these workers, astir 300, were successful from South Korea — and they're now headed home, aft nan South Korean authorities chartered a formation to get them retired of nan States. It seems, though, that nan 300 individuals aren't nan only South Koreans getting retired of Dodge. Companies, too, are rethinking their investments successful nan U.S.; moreover going truthful acold arsenic to region their existent plans. From nan Dong-A Ilbo:

After U.S. migration authorities stormed nan Hyundai Motor-LG Energy Solution artillery associated task works (HL-GA) successful Savannah, Georgia, connected Sept. 4 and detained much than 300 Korean employees, a consciousness that location is "no safe zone," moreover for allies, dispersed quickly. The works has been cited arsenic 1 of nan largest U.S. finance projects by a world company.

[Head of nan Korean American Service and Education Consortium successful New York,] Kim Gap-song, who dispatched unit to Savannah to supply mentation and different support for nan detained HL-GA workers, said, "This ambush has caused awesome disruptions to caller mill building crossed Georgia. I understand immoderate Korean companies person decided to preemptively suspend building successful lawsuit of further incidents."

...

Georgia is considered a hub for Korean finance successful nan United States. More than 110 Korean companies, including Hyundai Motor Group successful Savannah, SK On successful Commerce, and Hanwha Qcells successful Dalton, person group up operations. In a authorities wherever Korean firms lend importantly to section communities, a large, coordinated migration crackdown by nan Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement, nan FBI, and nan Drug Enforcement Administration has near galore Koreans emotion betrayed.

A section resident said, "Costco and downtown restaurants, erstwhile packed pinch Koreans earlier nan weekend, are now empty." The resident added, "Many group are avoiding going retired astatine all, worried they could beryllium harmed by unfair raids. Areas that had revived acknowledgment to Korean firm finance could return a nonstop hit."

Obviously, nan halfway attack of ICE raids — detain first, fig retired if personification has their paperwork successful bid 2nd — is much an rumor than nan circumstantial nationalities of nan group detained. ICE is an equal-opportunity hyperactive subject helping of an progressively authoritarian regime. Still, it's reassuring that 300 of nan 475 group detained successful this ambush tin not only get retired of nan country, but spot immoderate justness successful nan shape of an economical effect to nan state they're escaping. 

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Despite nan turmoil astir Hyundai, it seems Volkswagen is still willing successful investing successful nan United States. The institution is moreover talking astir building a works to manufacture Audi cars here, tempting destiny for nan very aforesaid style of ambush that's stiff finance from South Korean corporations successful Georgia. From Reuters:

Volkswagen was successful precocious talks pinch nan U.S. authorities complete important investments successful nan world's second-largest car market, wherever tariffs person costs Europe's apical carmaker billions of euros truthful acold this year.

Chief Executive Oliver Blume told Reuters that Volkswagen did not admit an "assymmetric" woody betwixt Brussels and Washington that foresees tariffs connected EU car imports of 15% and nary tariffs for U.S. business equipment imports into Europe.

"Therefore, we are counting connected our scheme connected investments successful nan U.S.," which would boost section employment and VW's proviso chain, Blume said astatine nan IAA Munich car show, adding talks pinch nan U.S. authorities were "very positive."

Volkswagen is considering important investments to grow its U.S. business, including a works for its Audi brand, and has held talks astir really Washington could lend support.

He hoped for a speedy solution "because we request to return decisions correct now for localising our business there," he said.

Best of luck, Oliver! There's nary measurement to preempt a home subject cognition that detains first and checks for origin second, truthful I guess you conscionable person to dream you aren't deed pinch one. 

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At slightest our homegrown car brands are still doing well, though! Let's cheque successful connected American darling Tesla, which has agelong made up nan mostly of nan EV marketplace successful nan United States. Surely nan institution is still doing well. Oh? Oh. To shreds, you say. From Reuters:

Tesla's U.S. marketplace stock dropped to a adjacent eight-year debased successful August arsenic buyers chose electrical vehicles from a increasing unchangeable of rivals complete nan aging lineup offered by CEO Elon Musk's company, according to information from investigation patient Cox Automotive shared exclusively pinch Reuters.

...

Tesla, which erstwhile held much than 80% of nan U.S. EV market, accounted for 38% of nan full EV income successful nan United States successful August, nan first clip it has fallen beneath nan 40% people since October 2017, erstwhile it was ramping up accumulation of nan Model 3, its first wide marketplace car, according to early information from Cox.

While different automakers are rolling retired caller EVs, Tesla has turned its attraction to building robotaxis and humanoid robots, delaying and cancelling plans
for cheaper electrical conveyance models.

Much of Tesla's trillion-dollar valuation hangs connected that bet. The company's committee connected Friday projected an unprecedented $1 trillion salary package for Musk that, isolated from different operational milestones, is pegged to Tesla's worth rising to $8.5 trillion complete nan adjacent decade.

You mean to show maine that loudly declaring you're nary longer a car company, cutting plans for affordable models, and failing to rein successful your CEO arsenic he goes connected chaotic Twitter rants isn't a awesome measurement to tally a car company? Well, I am stunned. I gotta dishonesty down. 

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Automakers are hopeless for nations to easiness their emissions requirements, because emissions instrumentality is costly and companies could beryllium utilizing that money for executive bonuses. Canada, though, is really proceeding automakers retired connected their plea — a broadside effect of really difficult nan country's been deed by nan U.S. waste and acquisition war. From nan Wall Street Journal: 

Canada will region its electric-vehicle income instruction that was group to return effect adjacent twelvemonth to easiness nan financial compression nan home car assemblage faces from hefty Trump management tariffs.

Prime Minister Mark Carney added Friday that officials would reappraisal nan EV income policy, implemented by his predecessor Justin Trudeau, alongside a broader reappraisal of really nan Canadian system tin stay competitory while reducing greenhouse gases.

The region comes arsenic a alleviation for nan home car industry, which many times warned of accumulation shutdowns and occupation losses successful nan arena Ottawa followed done pinch rules compelling 20% of each caller car income successful 2026 to beryllium successful nan EV category. The extremity was that EVs had to correspond each caller car sales, starting successful 2035. The astir caller information from Statistics Canada, covering nan first 4th of 2025, bespeak that zero-emission vehicles represented astir 9% of full caller sales, a 23% driblet from nan comparable year-ago period, arsenic governments scaled backmost rebates to promote EV purchases.

Canada will do a 60-day reappraisal of its EV policies, truthful it's excessively early to show really overmuch things will alteration arsenic a consequence of this waste and acquisition war, but it surely seems for illustration a habitable early is 1 of nan galore costs of nan Trump administration's whims. 

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Have you been impacted by nan de minimis import exemption being revoked yet? I got an email past nighttime that a dress I'd ordered from Walmart for Halloween was refunded, and my bid canceled, days aft nan dress had shipped. It looks for illustration it hasn't near China yet, which makes it look for illustration nan institution conscionable now realized it couldn't vessel it complete present nether nan de minimis exemption. 

I didn't emotion Jordan Lake erstwhile nan sessions first dropped, but I'm coming astir connected them now.