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

to announce a $20 billion investment in the United States,

including a $5 billion steel plant in Louisiana, CNBC reported

on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The plant, which would require the hiring of around 1,500

employees, will produce next-generation steel that will be used

at the company's two U.S. auto plants that manufacture electric

vehicles.

Hyundai Steel was not immediately available for

comment.

The Louisiana governor's office and the White House were not

immediately available for comment.

Hyundai Steel was considering building a steel factory in the

southeast United States but nothing had been decided, a

spokesperson said earlier this month, adding that a hike in U.S.

tariffs would have a negative impact on the Korean steel

industry.

U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff action to boost

protection for U.S. steel and aluminium producers came into

effect earlier this month. It 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.