The United States and Japan have reached a major trade agreement under which Tokyo will commit $550 billion in investments across key American sectors, marking one of the largest bilateral investment pledges in recent years.
US President Donald Trump announced the deal, stating that Japan has officially launched the first tranche of investments valued at $36 billion. The initial projects will focus on energy exports, power generation and advanced manufacturing across Texas, Ohio and Georgia.
The announcement followed high-level meetings between US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Japan’s economic and trade minister Ryosei Akazawa. As part of the agreement, the United States will reduce tariffs on Japanese imports to 15%.
Key investment projects
Among the flagship initiatives is a $33 billion natural gas-fired power plant in Portsmouth, Ohio, expected to generate 9.2 gigawatts of electricity annually. The facility will be operated by SB Energy, a subsidiary of SoftBank Group.
Another major project includes Japan’s participation in the $2.1 billion Texas GulfLink deepwater crude oil export terminal off the Texas coast, developed by Sentinel Midstream. The facility is expected to strengthen US energy exports.
The third project is a $600 million synthetic industrial diamond manufacturing plant in Georgia. The plant will be operated by Element Six, a unit of De Beers Group, and aims to reduce US reliance on foreign suppliers for synthetic diamond materials used in advanced manufacturing and semiconductor production.
President Trump described the agreement as a historic step toward revitalizing the American industrial base, creating jobs and strengthening national and economic security.
The new deal signals deepening economic cooperation between the two countries, with large-scale investments expected to boost energy infrastructure, critical minerals supply chains and advanced manufacturing capabilities in the United States.
