Japan and United States Reaffirm 2025 Trade Deal and Investment Cooperation

Japan and the United States confirmed on Friday that they will continue to advance cooperation on strategic investments and honor the terms of a trade agreement reached last year. Japan's trade and industry minister, Ryosei Akazawa, stated after meetings in Washington with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer that the agreement remains unchanged. Under the deal, Japan has committed $550 billion to U.S. based projects in strategic industries, including oil, gas, critical minerals, and nuclear power, to be issued by the end of President Donald Trump's second term. In exchange, the Trump administration set tariffs on Japanese cars and other products at 15 percent and promised no stacking treatment, which exempts imports with preexisting tariffs of 15 percent or higher from further levies.

Akazawa noted that the two countries will reinforce supply chains for critical minerals, citing China's arbitrary export controls as a risk to both nations. To date, six projects have been announced. The first three, worth approximately $36 billion, include a gas fired generating facility in Ohio for AI data centers. A second batch of projects totaling $73 billion includes the construction of small modular reactors in Tennessee and Alabama, as well as natural gas generation facilities in Pennsylvania and Texas. Akazawa added that discussions regarding semiconductor manufacturing and AI are becoming increasingly significant factors in the consideration of the $550 billion investment.