Trump seeks to revive the manufacturing industry with the $550 billion Japan pledged for investment in the U.S.

President Donald Trump and his administration are planning an ambitious strategy to restore strength to U.S. manufacturing: channeling part of Japan's investment commitment—exactly $550 billion—toward building factories, plants and strategic projects on U.S. soil.

The intention, according to officials and documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, would be to turn that package into leverage for the massive generation and relocation of industrial employment in the country, a campaign promise of Trump himself.

While the proposal is still under internal discussion, according to the WSJ it is already clear which manufacturing sectors to target: semiconductors, generic drug production, critical minerals, energy, shipbuilding and quantum computing capabilities.

Part of the plan contemplates measures to facilitate and incentivize the installation of plants,such as expedited regulatory reviews, leases on federal lands and waters, and preferential treatment to U.S.-selected suppliers. With these incentives, it is clear that the main objective is to prioritize the recovery of the productive capacity that, according to the White House, the United States lost in recent decades.

According to documents and sources consulted by the WSJ, the planned memorandum of understanding with Japan creates a committee, chaired by the secretary of Commerce, that would recommend projects to the president and set conditions on funding and benefit sharing between the two countries. That draft even contemplates splitting costs 50-50 between the two sides and assigning the U.S. a very high share of the profits-90%.

The margins underscore the strong role Washington played in negotiating with Tokyo, especially with the harsh tariffs applied to key industries such as automobiles.

White House spokesman Kush Desai confirmed that the commitment made by Japan “will be key to fueling America’s next Golden Age.”

Likewise, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in previous interviews that the trade agreements and this mobilization of capital could translate into “factories built in America at a scale that you have never seen before.”

However, while the idea on paper looks practical and resolute, the initiative faces potential practical and political objections. According to the memorandum of understanding, the Japanese package does not function as a liquid "fund" under unilateral White House control, but as a contribution to be apportioned from investments, loans and guarantees, which changes the risk profile for companies and the speed with which projects could materialize.

In fact, some major companies and executives may be skeptical of agreeing to deals with the Trump Administration if they foresee an uncertain political horizon. Indeed, some experts say that certain large companies prefer regulatory reforms and regulatory stability to government-contingent money.

Despite the doubts, if the plan materializes in practice, the Trump Administration could accelerate strategic industrial investments in the United States, fulfilling the president's promise. If it fails on operational agreements or business confidence, the situation could become a boomerang that will hit one of the major goals of Trump and his Commerce team.