Gov. Brian Kemp’s economic development mission to South Korea and Japan this week unfolded at a particularly sensitive moment for Georgia’s global business ties.
The weeklong trip comes after a sweeping federal immigration raid at Hyundai’s mammoth campus in Bryan County in September, an episode that jolted one of the state’s most important corporate relationships and sparked a diplomatic crisis with Seoul.
And it came as President Donald Trump crisscrossed the same region, pursuing trade deals and tariff negotiations that could lead to hundreds of billions of dollars in new investment that Georgia is competing to land.
In an interview from Tokyo, Kemp said the shifting tariff environment remains a “mixed bag” for the state’s economy. But he also argued that the fallout from the raid — along with Trump’s new trade deals, could ultimately strengthen Georgia’s standing.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
“We can’t allow one incident to ruin 40 years of mutual friendship and trust,” he said.
Below are excerpts from the interview, lightly edited for clarity:
On pressing Trump to improve visa processing for high-skilled foreign workers: “He really understands the need for these technical employees that are here for a very short time. They’re coming over to set up proprietary equipment or calibrate that equipment, set it up and train American workers. Because (American workers are) going to be the ones at the end of the day that are the permanent hires and are going to be working in the plant.”
On balancing visa flexibility with enforcement: “We need to make sure that we have a good process but that we’re also doing things like the president’s done keeping our border secure and making sure that we’re going after criminal illegals and things of that nature.”
On whether there is a silver lining from the raid: “When you’re doing these big deals like this, especially something like a Metaplant or billion-dollar battery plants, you’re just going to have issues that come up that you have to work through. And our team is very experienced.
“We’ve had times before where the companies have made mistakes or gotten into problematic situations. And we didn’t throw them under the bus and walk away or blame them. We held them accountable but also worked with them to solve those issues.”
On tariffs: “It’s a mixed bag in some regards. On one hand, companies are complaining. But on the other hand, you have the same companies that are investing in the U.S., which is what the president wants and what we want. But for the most part, that didn’t dominate the discussions.”
On Georgia’s position in the investment race: “Everybody’s looking to the U.S. for investment. And when they look at the U.S., they’re absolutely going to look at Georgia. We’re on everybody’s radar.”
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