NEW YORK — U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly stressed ahead of the midterm elections that South Korea, Japan and Taiwan are making large-scale investments in an Alaska liquefied natural gas project and in new semiconductor plants in New York State. He showed no hesitation in using the figures to showcase his tariff record, even where the terms have not yet been agreed with the countries involved.
Trump, who campaigned in Alaska for midterm candidates the previous day, wrote on his social media platform Truth Social on the 14th that he had announced the launch of the LNG project, the largest energy infrastructure undertaking in Alaska's history, and said South Korea's $50 billion investment was part of the trade deal. He added that Taiwan had also committed to purchasing $70 billion to $80 billion worth of Alaska LNG, describing it as equivalent to 30% of the pipeline's supply volume over the next 20 years and the largest such deal in history. At the campaign event the previous day, Trump had disclosed that Taiwan would take an equity stake of $4.4 billion in the Alaska LNG project.
In a separate Truth Social post, Trump announced that Japan would invest in the semiconductor sector. He said that under his leadership, GlobalFoundries and the Commerce Department, led by Secretary Howard Lutnick, had unveiled a massive investment plan to build two large new semiconductor manufacturing facilities in Malta, New York, and claimed that under his direction Japan would provide the financing needed for the $21 billion investment. Trump said the project would create 27,000 high-paying construction and supply chain jobs and more than 1,000 high-skilled manufacturing jobs in New York State, calling it the result of his historic trade agreements aimed at strengthening national and economic security. He added that the United States was converting investment pledges from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan into enormous construction projects, describing them as agreements that would transform the country and affect generations to come.
Trump also announced that the U.S. government had secured an equity stake in GlobalFoundries. The Commerce Department plans to invest $955 million in silicon photonics, silicon germanium and advanced packaging. According to Trump, the U.S. government's total investment stands at $1.63 billion, with the value of its holdings exceeding $2 billion. On the 30th of last month, at the White House in Washington, Trump unilaterally presented South Korea's investment in the LNG project as a done deal in remarks directed at Alaska, a battleground state in the midterm elections.