Trump launches first $36 billion in Japan backed U.S. projects
U.S. President Donald Trump has unveiled the first wave of Japanese backed investment projects under a bilateral trade agreement reached last year, with initiatives worth about $36 billion set to move forward, Qazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
In a post on his X platform, Trump said:
“Our MASSIVE Trade Deal with Japan has just launched!
Japan is now officially, and financially, moving forward with the FIRST set of Investments under its $550 BILLION Dollar Commitment to invest in the United States of America — part of our Historic Trade Deal to REVITALIZE the American Industrial Base, create HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of GREAT American Jobs, and strengthen our National and Economic Security like never before.”
According to the administration, the initial tranche includes three major projects in strategic sectors. These involve oil and gas facilities in Texas, power generation infrastructure in Ohio and a critical minerals facility in Georgia.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the Ohio project will become the largest natural gas infrastructure development in history, producing 9.2 gigawatts of electricity. He also announced plans for a deepwater crude oil export facility in the Gulf of Mexico and the establishment of synthetic industrial diamond manufacturing capacity in the United States.
Lutnick said the deepwater export facility could generate between $20 billion and $30 billion in U.S. crude oil exports annually.
Trump credited tariffs for enabling the projects. “These projects are so large, and could not be done without one very special word, TARIFFS,” he wrote.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi confirmed the announcement. She said the gas infrastructure will help power artificial intelligence data centers and noted that synthetic diamonds, used in semiconductor, automotive and aviation industries, are intended to reduce overreliance on a specific country, without naming China.
Japan’s industry minister Ryosei Akazawa said approximately $33.3 billion will be invested in the Ohio gas infrastructure project. The crude oil export expansion is valued at $2.1 billion, while synthetic diamond production is estimated at $600 million.
He said Japanese companies including Hitachi Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Toshiba Corp. and SoftBank Group Corp. have shown interest in the gas infrastructure project, while Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., Nippon Steel Corp. and Asahi Diamond Industrial Co. are linked to the energy and synthetic diamond initiatives.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Japan and the United States agreed to speed up the selection of initial projects under a $550 billion investment package.
Takaichi, who took office in October, is scheduled to meet Trump at the White House on March 19, where the two leaders are expected to mark the formal launch of the investment projects.