U.S. Announces $36 Billion in Japanese Investments

The U.S. government outlined three Japanese-funded projects totaling $36 billion — a natural gas plant in Ohio, a crude oil export facility on the Gulf Coast and a synthetic diamond manufacturing site — calling them the first phase of a larger $550 billion pledge tied to last year’s trade framework.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the projects are expected to generate thousands of jobs. Under the July agreement, Tokyo pledged $550 billion in U.S.-based projects in exchange for a 15 percent blanket tariff on Japanese exports, a pullback from the more aggressive duties once threatened.

U.S. officials pushed for concrete plans after President Trump’s visit to Japan in October, while Japanese leaders sought to show progress ahead of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s planned U.S. visit in March; in an election last week, Ms. Takaichi’s party won in a landslide, and Mr.

United States, Ohio

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