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U.S. President Donald Trump answers reporters’ questions at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on September 7. / Source: Reuters-Yonhap News

U.S. President Donald Trump on September 14 called for allowing foreign companies to bring in their own technical specialists to train American workers, stressing that such expertise is vital to reviving U.S. manufacturing while balancing his hardline immigration agenda.

The comments came a week after U.S. immigration authorities raided a Korean battery plant construction site in Georgia, arresting 475 workers, including 317 South Koreans. Following that incident, Trump signaled the possibility of expanding or reallocating professional work visas such as the E-4 and H-1B to keep foreign investment on track.

On Truth Social, Trump wrote: “When foreign companies bring massive investments to America to make extremely complex products and machines, I want them to bring in their own experts for a time to teach and train Americans how to make these very unique and complicated products — until they eventually withdraw and return home.”

He warned that without such measures, critical industries like semiconductors, computers, shipbuilding, and rail manufacturing would fail to revive, despite significant investments. Citing shipbuilding as an example, he lamented that the U.S. once built a ship a day but now manages only about one per year.

Trump added that if America lacks expertise in areas like batteries, foreign specialists should be allowed to help train domestic workers so that Americans can eventually take over production themselves.

His remarks were widely interpreted as a reassurance to South Korean and other foreign companies investing in the U.S. that Washington will consider easing visa restrictions to prevent investment setbacks, even as his administration carries out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.

White House border czar Tom Homan recently said there would be “many more workplace raids,” while Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem noted that most of the detained South Korean workers had ignored “removal orders,” with a few facing charges related to criminal activity.

Balancing his “America First” immigration stance with the need to attract foreign capital and technology, Trump stressed that he does not want to “scare away or discourage” overseas investors. “We welcome them and their workers,” he said, adding that the U.S. would learn from foreign experts and soon “outperform them at their own game.”