An analysis of President Trump’s investment drive in the United States says Japan has selected 6 projects, while South Korea has yet to make any formal announcement. Some have pointed to dissatisfaction with delays in implementation and the extent to which the U.S. has fulfilled its investment commitments as factors behind the directive to scale back exercises.
An analysis of the background to remarks made in Washington indicates a significant gap in the progress of South Korean and Japanese investment in the United States. The directive to scale back exercises is said to be intended to pressure South Korea to accelerate implementation of its U.S. investment commitments, while some have suggested that economic dissatisfaction on the U.S. side may be a factor.
In 2 announcements this year, Japan identified 6 U.S. investment projects, with the total expected to reach approximately $109 billion. The first 3 projects were a $33 billion natural gas power plant in Ohio, a $2.1 billion offshore crude oil export facility in Texas, and a $600 million industrial synthetic diamond plant in Georgia.
Plans for the subsequent tranche included an investment of up to $40 billion to build small modular reactors (SMRs) in Tennessee and Alabama, and up to $33 billion in natural gas power facilities in Pennsylvania and Texas. Japan’s investments took concrete shape at an early stage in terms of the amounts publicly announced.
South Korea, meanwhile, pledged approximately $350 billion in U.S. investment during tariff negotiations, but no formal first project has been announced as of now. The Korea-U.S. Strategic Investment Corporation was established on 18 June, but the investments have been slow to take concrete form. Japan has selected 6 projects in the meantime, although additional investment is expected to be required going forward.