Samsung may start building some of its appliances and devices in the U.S.

By Christian de Looper February 2, 2017

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It looks like Samsung may move some of its production to the U.S. According to a report from Reuters, Samsung may build a new home appliances plant in the U.S. — something that could be an effort to circumvent a tariff or import tax that may be on tap from the new administration on products manufactured abroad.

According to the report, Samsung has yet to decide on the scale of its investment in a U.S. plant and the location, and while it didn’t comment on the report, it did mention that it has already invested a significant amount of money in the U.S. — including building a $17 billion plant for chips in Austin, Texas.

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“We continue to evaluate new investment needs in the U.S. that can help us best serve our customers,” said Samsung in a statement to Reuters.

No import tax or tariff has been imposed as of yet, and South Korean companies haven’t been singled out — but that hasn’t stopped companies like Hyundai and LG from promising to invest more heavily in the U.S. Hyundai, for example, said that it would lift U.S. investment by 50 percent to a hefty $3.1 billion over the next five years. LG is also considering building a new U.S. plant for home appliances, and is reportedly looking into building that plant in Tennessee.

“This is something that has been under consideration for years at LG, but the current political situation is simply accelerating that timeline for a decision,” said a person familiar with the matter in the Reuters report. Such a plant would help LG compete with Samsung if Samsung does end up building a plant in the U.S.

If such a tax is eventually imposed, brands like Samsung would almost certainly want to build plants in the U.S. — something that would help them remain competitive with other home appliance manufacturers that are based in the U.S.

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