Trump: Japan to invest $550 B in US

President Donald Trump is bragging that Japan has given him, as part of a new trade framework, $550 billion to invest in the United States.

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It's an astonishing figure, but still subject to negotiation and perhaps not the sure thing he's portraying.

"Japan is putting up $550 billion in order to lower their tariffs a little bit," Trump said Thursday. "They put up, as you could call it, seed money. Let's call it seed money."

He said 90 percent of any profits from the money invested would go to the US even if Japan had put up the funds. "It's not a loan or anything, it's a signing bonus," the Republican president said, on the trade framework that lowered his threatened tariff from 25 to 15 percent, including on autos.

A White House official said the terms are being negotiated and nothing has been formalized in writing. The official, who insisted on anonymity to detail the terms of the talks, suggested the goal was for the $550 billion fund to make investments at Trump's direction.

The sum is significant: It would represent more than 10 percent of Japan's entire gross domestic product. The Japan External Trade Organization estimates that direct investment into the US economy topped $780 billion in 2023. It is unclear the degree to which the $550 billion could represent new investment or flow into existing investment plans.

What the trade framework announced Tuesday has achieved is a major talking point for the Trump administration.