SEOUL, March 24 (Reuters) - South Korea's Hyundai Motor

Group is set to announce a $20 billion investment in

the United States at the White House on Monday, a U.S. official

said.

CNBC reported that the investment would include a $5 billion

steel plant in Louisiana and was expected to be announced by

President Donald Trump, Hyundai Chairman Euisun Chung and

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry.

The announcement would come as Trump threatens to impose

reciprocal tariffs on April 2, potentially targeting countries

such as South Korea that have large trade surpluses with the

United States.

Spokespeople at Hyundai Steel and Hyundai Motor ( HYMTF )

were not immediately available for comment. The Louisiana

governor's office and the White House were also not immediately

available for comment.

Earlier this month, Hyundai Steel said it was considering

building a steel factory in the southeast United States but

nothing had been decided, adding that a hike in U.S. tariffs

would have a negative impact on the Korean steel industry.

Trump has already introduced tariffs to boost protection for

U.S. steel and aluminium producers. He restored effective global

tariffs of 25% on all imports of the metals and extended the

duties to hundreds of downstream products made from the metals,

from nuts and bolts to bulldozer blades and soda cans.

Hyundai Motor ( HYMTF ) plans to hold an opening ceremony for its new

car factory in Georgia later this month. The automaker has a

factory in Alabama, while its affiliate Kia has a

plant in Georgia.