Samsung invests $1.9 bn in US ahead of Moon visit

Will spend $1.5 bn on semiconductor factory in Texas, $380 mn in South Carolina for home appliances

Samsung Electronics announced investments worth $1.9 billion in two US plants as South Korean President Moon Jae-in prepares for a summit with US President Donald Trump. Samsung will spend $1.5 billion on its semiconductor factory in Texas and build a $380 million plant in South Carolina for home appliances. Both investments will be carried out until 2020, according to statements from the company and South Korea’s chamber of commerce.

The announcements come just ahead of Moon’s first summit with the US president, who has been a vocal critic of a free trade agreement and described it as a “a one-way street.”