The consultation panel discussing the first project took place on Tuesday night. It was attended by Japanese Trade Minister Ryosei Akazawa, as well as Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright from the US side, and lasted some two hours, according to the statement.
The first meeting for the initiative was held last week, marking the start of a formal selection process for the investment mechanism.
Once negotiations on the consultation panel is finalised, it will give its input to an investment committee led by Lutnick. The final greenlight for the investments will be given by Trump, based on that committee’s recommendations.
Japan could face the return of higher tariffs if it doesn’t fund a project within 45 days of Trump’s decisions. Earlier this year, Trump threatened to raise tariffs on Japanese goods to 25%, then scaled that back to 15% for most goods after Japan agreed to boost investment in the US through the US$550 billion mechanism.
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