South Korea's steel industry welcomed the government's first investment project in the United States and said it expects synergy with a planned electric-arc-furnace steel mill in Louisiana to be built by Hyundai Steel and POSCO.
The Korea Iron and Steel Association said in a statement on the 1st that the industry "expresses its deep welcome for the Ministry of Trade and Industry's final confirmation of the first investment project in the United States."
The association said that if investment in building an integrated electric-arc-furnace steel mill in Louisiana is linked to the broader U.S. investment plan, "considerable synergy will be created in establishing a local supply chain connected to major demand industries in the United States, including automobiles, shipbuilding, energy and infrastructure, with steel at the center."
The Hyundai Steel-POSCO Louisiana Steel (HPLS) project is a $5.8 billion integrated steel mill that Hyundai Steel and POSCO plan to build in Louisiana. It will be the world's first facility to produce automotive steel sheet using an electric arc furnace, with annual capacity of 2.7 million tons.
The association said the project "will serve as an important turning point in expanding economic and industrial cooperation between South Korea and the United States and in linking the two countries' supply chains more closely," adding that it is "deeply grateful for the government's efforts."
