US banks near deal to fund Japan’s US$550 billion pledge to Trump
The US Department of Commerce did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside business hours.
The first batch, from February, covers an oil export facility in Texas, an industrial diamond plant in Georgia and a natural gas-fired power plant in Ohio, according to Reuters.
A second batch, announced in March, includes small modular nuclear reactors from GE Vernova Hitachi in Tennessee and Alabama, plus gas-fired plants in Pennsylvania and Texas.
Japan agreed to the pledge in July 2025 to secure a US tariff rate of 15 percent, down from the 25 percent Trump had threatened on most Japanese exports.
Commerce secretary Howard Lutnick and Japan’s then top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa signed a memorandum of understanding on Sept 4, 2025, setting out that cash flows from the projects are split evenly until Japan recoups its investment plus interest, after which 90 percent goes to the US and 10 percent to Japan.
