(The Center Square) — President Trump’s expansion of tariffs hasn’t affected Louisiana’s ability to attract companies and create jobs, economic development officials say, but behind the scenes they’ve pressed the administration to limit the impact on industries planning to invest billions into the state.
Two chemical plants in Geismar and Avondale, along with a $5.8 billion Hyundai steel mill planned in Donaldsonville, are among the projects the state has prioritized for relief or exemptions. Louisiana Economic Development sent letters, coordinated with industry leaders and made direct appeals to the Trump administration, according to emails obtained by The Center Square through a public records request. In some cases, companies reached out to Louisiana congressional leaders who are some of Trump’s staunchest allies, warning that his tariffs put entire projects at risk.
Before the Hyundai mill was announced by Trump and Gov. Jeff Landry at the White House in March, Louisiana Economic Development urged Trump to exempt active U.S. manufacturing projects from new tariffs he had pledged.
“By providing this exemption, we can ensure that Louisiana’s advancement in the steel industry related to US manufacturing needs remains strong while continuing to align with the broader goal of American industrial independence,” the department wrote in a letter to the Trump administration.
Hyundai officials said the expansion of tariffs on steel and aluminum would cost the project $880 million, according to the communications.
“These Section 232 tariffs, together with other announced tariffs, will seriously undermine the commercial viability of the Hyundai Motor Group’s three automobile plants and Hyundai Steel’s planned Louisiana steel facility,” Hyundai wrote in an internal brief to Louisiana Economic Development.
Hyundai told The Center Square they do not currently foresee any delays, but that “there is potential for Hyundai’s Louisiana Steel Mill project to be significantly affected by tariffs.”
Other companies reached out to House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise for help.
They include Japanese chemical manufacturer UBE, which announced last year it would build a $500 million facility in Avondale to produce components for batteries used in electric vehicles and energy storage systems. The project was pitched as a major step toward reducing U.S. dependence on Chinese imports for battery materials.
But tariffs threatened to add as much as $140 million in unexpected costs, according to the emails. Louisiana Economic Development warned the tariffs had driven the project’s expected rate of return to “unacceptably low” levels and dramatically increased the risks of continuing construction in the U.S. UBE considered canceling the project or relocating it overseas.
“‘I hear you’” is the best answer I have for you at this point,” Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois wrote to UBE in early June. UBE wasn’t ready to give up, and they worked to coordinate with Scalise and his staff who “seemed eager/willing to assist,” according to the company’s communications with the state.
“The logic is simple,” UBE President Tom Yura wrote to Bourgeois. “UBE is seeking to do what President Trump and the current Administration are hoping to achieve — move overseas production to the U.S., decrease reliance on foreign goods and create reliable products resources here at home.”
UBE told The Center Square it remains committed to the project, but concedes the tariffs are imposing “significant costs” and the company is “continuing to evaluate and navigate potential impacts.”
Maritime leaders in Louisiana appealed to Speaker Johnson early in the summer, including Gregory Rusovich, CEO of Transoceanic Development, a New Orleans-based firm that arranges the transportation of freight and cargo along the Mississippi River.
“From a free trade perspective…I think the economy broadly, and the global economy as well, are better served when tariffs are kept at lower, reasonable levels,” Rusovich told The Center Square. “There’s a pretty clear connection between tariffs and the pricing of products.”
According to Rusovich, he and 14 other industry leaders “met with Speaker Johnson and privately expressed our alarm over the tariffs. The Speaker maintains a similar position.”
Johnson has not expressed such concerns publicly.
“You’ve got to give the president the latitude, the runway to do what it is he was elected to do, and that is get this economy going again and get our trade properly balanced with other countries,” Johnson told reporters in April.
Representatives for Johnson and Scalise did not respond to requests for comment on the tariffs’ potential impacts on projects in their state.
In a statement, Louisiana Economic Development maintained it has seen “no demonstrable effects of recent tariffs on LED’s mission to cultivate jobs and economic opportunity for the people of Louisiana.”
“If anything, we’ve seen the opposite — more companies are choosing to onshore operations and expand production inside the United States, and Louisiana has continued to attract record levels of foreign direct investment,” according to the statement.
Louisiana also lobbied for relief for BASF, one of the largest chemical manufacturers in the world. The firm planned a $1 billion expansion of their Geismar plant but faced a potential tariff impact of $200 million dollars. It was later cut to $75 million when a trade deal was reached between the U.S. and China.
“BASF is seeking a temporary exemption…to avoid tariff penalties. The ask is narrowly tailored — not a handout, but relief for a domestic manufacturing investment,” Louisiana Economic Development wrote in an internal brief.
BASF contacted Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., “as well as national industry and trade associations to resolve the issue,” according to the brief.
BASF would not comment on the current impact of the tariffs on their project, but said they remained committed to the Geismar expansion and that operations would begin on time.
Louisiana officials also went to bat for industries without a strong presence in the state.
A letter sent to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick from commerce officials across the South urged the administration to safeguard the 1979 Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft. The pact created a free-trade zone for aircraft, engines and related parts and prohibited import duties, quotas and export subsidies for the products.
“As a nation we should not undertake policies that drive other nations to view us unreliable and cause them to undertake long term planning efforts to establish civil commercial aircraft production efforts as China is currently doing,” Shawn Welcome, director of business development at Louisiana Economic Development, wrote.
The officials called on Lutnick to “preserve and strengthen” the zero-tariff structure in future trade deals. Their letter joined many others sent to the Trump administration from various aircraft trade and congressional representatives.
The Trump administration seems to have been won over: The 1979 agreement was restored in a trade deal with the European Union and the United Kingdom.
Another frustration with Trump’s tariff policy has been its on-and-off approach, with rates that vary and have been as high as 100%.
“You want consistency,” Rusovich said. “We’re involved in projects that are being constructed. That requires different elements, materials, and equipment coming in. You need to understand what your costs are going to be for a particular project.”
