Trump policies spur economic anxiety in US Republican heartland: Tariffs are affecting everything'

"For decades, a line of storefronts in Jeffersonville, Ohio, a town of 1,200 people 40 minutes south-west of Columbus, lay empty. But now locals are hard at work renovating the downtown and paving streets in anticipation of a potential economic boom fueled by a huge new electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant. Two miles south of Jeffersonville, Korean and Japanese companies LG Energy Solution and Honda are in the midst of sinking $3.5bn into a facility that is expected to begin production in the coming months."

"In total, about 2,200 people are expected to be employed on a site that, until several years ago, was open farmland. But some locals are concerned. A host of Trump administration policies tariff measures and the end of clean vehicle tax credits worth thousands of dollars to car buyers are causing multinational manufacturing companies to consider pausing hundreds of millions of dollars in future investments, a move that would hit small, majority-Republican towns such as Jeffersonville especially hard."

"Moreover, a raid by ICE immigration officers on a Hyundai-LG battery plant in Ellabell, a small town in south-east Georgia in September that saw more than 300 South Korean workers detained and sent home has sent shock waves through places like Jeffersonville and the C-suites of international companies alike. Workers in a break area at the Hyundai Metaplant electric vehicle manufacturing facility in Ellabell, Georgia, on 11 June 2025. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images The construction process has been slowing down."

Jeffersonville, Ohio, is seeing downtown renovations and infrastructure work ahead of a new electric vehicle battery plant two miles south. LG Energy Solution and Honda are investing $3.5bn in a facility expected to begin production soon. Hundreds worked on construction and more than 525 hires fill engineering and manufacturing roles; about 2,200 jobs are expected on the former farmland site. Concern exists over Trump administration tariff measures and the end of clean vehicle tax credits, which are prompting multinationals to reconsider future investments. An ICE raid that detained over 300 South Korean workers has unsettled communities and executives. Construction activity has slowed, raising fears of halted projects.

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