Japan Remains Commited to Trade Deal With US
Following the US Supreme Court ruling on the illegality of ‘reciprocal (#IEEPA) tariffs’ that formed the impetus for bilateral trade deals, Japanese Trade Minister Ryosei Akazawa believes that President Trump can seek other legal grounds to impose #tariffs. He reiterated Japan’s commitment to work with the US on a win-win Bialteral Trade Deal, although clarifications from the Trump Administration would probably be welcome.
However, certain members of the Japanese private sector have sought to fight Trump’s tariffs. In that regard, Toyota Tshusho has sued the US Government over the tariffs and sought a refund. In view of the new situation, a corporate spokesperson stated that the company is monitoring the situation and respond accordingly in due course.
According to the US-Japan Trade Deal, Japan has committed to a Foreign Direct Investment (#FDI) of USD 550 billion into the US. For starters, three projects have been identified with a total value of USD 36 billion that will serve the interests of both sides.
The identified three projects are as follows:
- Gas Power Plant in Ohio
- Deep Sea Oil Extraction off Texas
- Synthetic Diamond Plant in Georgia
In addition, SoftBank has also indicated its interest in investing in #AI technologies and related infrastructure and energy projects. SoftBank is committed to injecting USD 40 billion into OpenAI. Together, SoftBank and OpenAI have also agreed to co-invest each USD 500 million in SB Energy to power AI data centers. Finally, SoftBank planned an initial USD 19 billion in the Stargate AI project with a price tag of USD 500 billion.