President of the U.S. Donald Trump has embraced Japan’s commitment to inject nearly $36 billion into oil, gas and vital mineral endeavors in Texas, Ohio, and Georgia.
This pledge marks the initial phase of Japanese investments following a historic trade agreement between the two nations, wherein Tokyo vowed to fund $550 billion in U.S.-focused projects while Trump reduced tariffs on the majority of Japanese imports to 15%.
“Our ENORMOUS Trade Agreement with Japan has officially commenced!” Trump stated on Tuesday via social media.
“The magnitude of these initiatives is so vast, and could not be achieved without one crucial term, TARIFFS,” he remarked.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi indicated that these projects bolster the Japan-U.S. partnership and are anticipated to enhance sales and business growth for Japanese firms.
“We are confident these efforts genuinely capture the essence of this Strategic Investment Initiative, which is to foster mutual advantages between Japan and the United States, strengthen economic security, and promote economic development,” Takaichi expressed in a post on X, as per a Google translation.
The most significant investment pertains to a natural gas facility in Ohio that is projected to produce 9.2 gigawatts of energy.
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick mentioned that the Portsmouth Powered Land Project, valued at $33 billion and managed by SB Energy, a subsidiary of Japan’s SoftBank, would be “the largest natural gas generation facility ever built.”
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The White House announced that Japan will also support a $2.1 billion deepwater crude oil export terminal off the Texas coast. When at full capacity, the Texas GulfLink initiative is expected to yield up to $30 billion in yearly U.S. crude exports. The project is being developed by Dallas-based energy infrastructure company Sentinel Midstream.
The Commerce Department stated that the third major initiative involves plans to establish a synthetic diamond grit facility in Georgia, with Japan slated to invest around $600 million.
This venture is set to be run by Element Six, a member of De Beers Group, the leading diamond organization globally.
According to the Commerce Department, diamond grit, dust, and powder are essential raw materials in U.S. industrial manufacturing due to their outstanding hardness and wear resistance, making this material vital for U.S. economic and national defense.
