Hyundai Motor Group faces lasting US policy risks after midterms

Hyundai Motor Group's massive investment in the United States could leave it with less leverage in future trade negotiations, as Washington's push to revive domestic manufacturing is expected to continue regardless of the outcome of the Tuesday (local time) U.S. midterm elections, a trade expert said in an interview on Wednesday. The automaker is increasingly vulnerable to changes in U.S. tariff and trade policies, particularly with its factories and supply chains fully established there, as political pressure on Korean manufacturers is likely to persist under either Republican or Democratic control of Congress, according to Shin Won-kyu, head of the global economic research team at the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI). "The biggest risk is weakened bargaining power after the investment is made," Shin said in a written interview with The Korea Times. "Plants cannot easily be moved once built, while tariff rates or calculation methods can change with a single proclamation." Hyundai Motor Group is considered one of the hardest hit corporations by the U.S. Donald Trump administration'