Weekly Briefing: The Kemp Interview

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The Kemp Interview: Unpacking the Georgia Governor’s Global Philosophy

Over his two terms, we’ve closely covered Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s forays abroad and announcements at home. We’ve asked questions here and there at grand openings like one of his favorite investments, German copper smelter Aurubis in Augusta, an $800 million win for the state. 

We’ve monitored livestreams of his panels at Davos (twice) and the Munich Security Conference, where he burnished foreign policy credentials as one of the few U.S. governors and only Republicans present. We’ve seen him headline Georgia’s delegations to Canada, Israel, Italy and Brazil and even tracked his migration up north to New York to accept a Korea Society award. We’ve posted grip-and-grin shots and recaps as he has received dignitaries at the Capitol, from the Dutch king to the Belgian princess and most recently, the Japanese ambassador. 

And crucially, we’ve sought to parse out the details of his three trips to Korea, starting with his first major mission in 2019 after the SK Battery announcement in 2019, then culminating in a recent Asia tour designed to shore up relationships in the wake of Hyundai ICE raid.  

With quotes in every Georgia news release announcing a major foreign investment project, perhaps no name has been cited more in Global Atlanta since he took office in 2019. (I count 300-plus articles with “Kemp” living in our archive). 

Still, a sit-down interview with the man the state’s boosters have called Georgia’s best worldwide salesman has proven elusive. 

Perhaps ironically, we finally got our chance halfway across the world in Tokyo, just after Mr. Kemp had Georgia’s case — and the South’s more broadly — to a hotel ballroom of nearly 500 people, including his counterparts from Tennessee and North Carolina, but perhaps more importantly, to Japanese diplomats, investors and a few prospects. 

Georgia, Mr. Kemp noted, as he always does without batting an eye, plays a central role in the region’s economic rise as the perennial pick for best in business and a hospitable home for Japanese companies that have launched some 50 expansions in the state in just the last two years. 

After we sat down, I was told we had a half-hour instead of the 10 minutes I’d prepared for. That led to a recalibration of my questions and an in-depth discussion on a variety of topics I’ve written about in this very newsletter. We made the most of it, touching on…

The Not-Apology Tour in Korea

In unpacking his recent stop in Korea, meeting with mega investors like Hyundai, SK and Hanwha in the wake of the ICE raid, I asked Mr. Kemp to unpack some seeming contradictions I’ve observed in his approach to international relations: 

• Supporting stronger immigration enforcement by Trump, which led to the embarrassing (in Asia, at least) ICE raids, while also seeking to be welcoming to international investors and partners
  
• Enjoying the glow of electric-mobility projects benefiting from Biden’s IRA while also railing against EV subsidies, which he says are a market distortion and Democratic giveaway. (He notes that SK and Hyundai were announced pre-IRA and that many projects that are struggling now were dependent on government largesse)

See his responses and how Georgia celebrated 40 years in Korea: Kemp Interview: Governor Says Korea Trip Changed the Narrative, Cleared the Air After ICE Raid

Brazil and Argentina: Beyond Prospecting

A few months before Japan, the governor had traveled to South America, a region that he thinks merits more attention from the state. 

Read more, including opportunities to engage with each country this week: Kemp After Trip to Brazil and Argentina: Georgia Should Focus More on South America

Japan: A First Mission Overlapping With Trump

The governor’s first trip to Japan for the SEUS-Japan conference coincided with Trump’s drop-in meeting with the country’s prime minister, which solidified its 15 percent tariff rate in exchange for energy collaboration and investment pledges. 

We used the occasion to talk about what Mr. Kemp is hearing from companies on tariffs, how to drive a desired resurgence in U.S. manufacturing, and the importance of working with U.S. allies to counter China. We also talked specifically about Japan — the importance of Georgia’s top investor and why it took Mr. Kemp until well into his second term to visit.

Read more, including a list of all the Japanese companies the governe met with, totaling billions in investment: Kemp: Japan Trip Crucial for Georgia as Focus Shifts From Tariffs to Strategic Investments

As it should be clear from the above, what emerged from the conversation was our clearest, most direct look yet at how Mr. Kemp sees the tumultuous world of international trade and investment, one that carries high stakes for the state he loves and the “hard-working Georgians” he aims to keep at the center of any global conversation. 

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For the sake of length, we’re cutting out the events section of the newsletter this week. Looking to engage more deeply? See the international community calendar here and all upcoming Global Atlanta events here.