Trump reiterates South Korea's $50B Alaska LNG commitment as part of trade deal; Taiwan pledges up to $80B in LNG purchases; Japan to fund $21B semiconductor factory in New York
Announcements come 20 days before midterm elections as Trump promotes results of his tariff and trade policies
![US President Donald Trump smiles at supporters after speaking at a campaign rally at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center in Wasilla, Alaska, on Tuesday. [AFP]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/10/15/news-p.v1.20261015.65af77436d114370a4498d56b6b0e215_P1.jpg)
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US President Donald Trump on Wednesday again pressed South Korea's commitment to invest in the Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) development project, while also announcing that Taiwan had pledged to purchase Alaska LNG and that Japan would fund a major semiconductor factory in New York. The announcements, coming 20 days before midterm elections, appeared aimed at showcasing the results of his tariff and broader trade and economic policies.
Trump took to Truth Social to reiterate that South Korea had committed $50 billion to the Alaska LNG development project as part of a bilateral trade and investment agreement.
Campaigning in Alaska on Wednesday in support of midterm candidates, Trump said he had announced the launch of the Alaska LNG Project — the largest energy infrastructure project in the state's history. "South Korea's $50 billion infrastructure investment is part of my trade and investment agreement with them," he said. The remarks were widely seen as an effort to highlight how his tariff policy had drawn large-scale investment from South Korea.
Trump also said Taiwan had pledged to purchase between $70 billion and $80 billion worth of Alaska LNG, following his announcement at the same rally of Taiwan's $4.4 billion equity stake in the Alaska LNG project. "This represents 30 percent of pipeline supply over the next 20 years," he said, calling it "the largest purchase commitment in history."
In a separate Truth Social post, Trump announced a semiconductor investment deal with Japan.
"Today, under my leadership, GlobalFoundries and the Commerce Department, led by Secretary Howard Lutnick, announced a massive $21 billion investment to build two enormous new semiconductor manufacturing facilities in Malta, New York," Trump said.
He said the investment would create more than 27,000 high-paying construction and supply chain jobs and over 1,000 high-skilled manufacturing jobs in New York state. "Under my direction, Japan will fund this $21 billion investment," he added.
Trump said Japan's investment was also "the result of my historic trade deals to rebuild America's industrial base, create hundreds of thousands of great American jobs, and strengthen our national and economic security." He added: "We are turning investment commitments from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan into massive construction projects — these are generational agreements that will transform America."
Meanwhile, Trump also announced a separate deal under which the US government would acquire an equity stake in GlobalFoundries.
The Commerce Department plans to invest $955 million in silicon photonics, silicon germanium and advanced packaging. Trump said the government's total investment would reach $1.63 billion, with its current equity stake valued at more than $2 billion. "My administration's Commerce Department is the first to generate a return for the American people," he said.
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