By Lee Hyo-sik





Jean-Christophe Darbes, chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea

Automakers and other exporters here will shift their production to the United States, following Donald Trump's win in the U.S. election, according to the head of the European business community here on Thursday.

Jean-Christophe Darbes, chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea (ECCK) said it will become more difficult for Korean companies to ship their products to the world's largest economy as President-elect Trump has vowed to prop up trade barriers against foreign products in a bid to revitalize U.S. manufacturing.

"Korea's exports to the United States will likely decline as Trump, who has vowed to introduce protectionist measures, becomes the 45th U.S. president," Darbes said. "Given that businesses react quickly to changes in the market, more Korean companies will set up plants in the United States to continue to do business there. But the problem is that this will have adverse effects on Korea's efforts to create decent, high-paying jobs at home."

The chairman advised that Asia's fourth-largest economy nurture service industries and find other ways of generating much-needed jobs as automakers and other firms in manufacturing move their production out of the country.

Over the years, Hyundai Motor and other Korean companies have been building plants in the United States and other countries to make products where consumers are, while downsizing their presence in their home country because of soaring labor costs, increasingly militant labor unions and other unfavorable conditions.

Darbes then said Trump's election pledge to make the U.S. economy expand 4 percent will create business opportunities for Korean businesses as it could become a growth engine for the rest of the world.

"The United States will have to invest significant amounts of money to propel its growth. Its increasing economic activities will also increase demand for foreign goods," he said. "This will present good business opportunities in the United States for Korea's carmakers, chemical firms and other exporters, thanks to their high-quality products."

On Thursday, ECCK issued the 2015-2016 White Paper on 14 major industries in Korea. Releasing the result of a survey of 139 European companies about the nation's business environment, the chamber said its member firms want to operate under stable and predictable business conditions.