Do Americans Support South Korean Investment in the U.S.? | Ep. 10

KEI’s Director of Public Opinion and External Relations James Kim joins the show to speak about his recently published report, “Untethered Sentiments: How Politics, Visibility, Perception, and Demographic Differences Shape American Views on Foreign Investment and Trade.” Together with host and President Scott Snyder, the two dive into the report’s examination of sentiments in the United States around the changing landscapes of trade and direct foreign investment.

From the report: Since his inauguration on January 20, the president has moved swiftly to sign numerous executive orders, including a sweeping new tranche of tariffs on key goods. Among them are 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum, auto tariffs, and the so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs targeting a wide swath of imports. Foreign multinational corporations have begun rerouting supply chains, building up inventories, and expanding manufacturing capacity in the United States—while others have pulled back investment plans due to heightened uncertainty.

In this volatile environment, how the American public perceives trade, tariffs, and foreign investment is of critical importance. To assess these attitudes, the Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI), in partnership with YouGov, conducted an original survey from December 17, 2024, to January 2, 2025. The survey involved 1,734 respondents matched to a representative sample of 1,500 across ten states, selected to reflect variations in the levels of South Korean foreign direct investment (FDI) and ethnic Korean population. The study examined how state-level FDI visibility and individual perceptions influence attitudes toward trade and investment, employing both descriptive statistics and experimental methods, including image-based framing and discrete choice conjoint analysis.

Read the full report here: https://keia.org/publication/untethered-sentiments-how-politics-visibility-perception-and-demographic-differences-shape-american-views-on-foreign-investment-and-trade/

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