TOKYO: Japan’s $550 billion investment package agreed in this week’s US tariff deal could help finance a Taiwanese firm building semiconductor plants in the US, Japan’s top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa said on Saturday.

Japan agreed to the sweeping US-bound investment initiative, which includes equity, loans and guarantees, in exchange for lower tariffs on its exports to the U.S.

However, the structure of the scheme remains unclear.

“Japan, the United States, and like-minded countries are working together to build supply chains in sectors critical to economic security,” Akazawa told public broadcaster NHK.

To that end, he said projects eligible for financing under the package are not limited to US or Japanese firms.

“For example, if a Taiwanese chipmaker builds a plant in the U.S. and uses Japanese components or tailors its products to meet Japanese needs, that’s fine too,” he said, without specifying companies.

The US is significantly reliant on Taiwan’s TSMC for advanced chip manufacturing, raising economic security concerns due to geographic proximity to China.

TSMC announced plans for a $100 billion U.S. investment with US President Donald Trump at the White House in March, on top of $65 billion pledged for three plants in the state of Arizona, one of which is up and running.

Japan will use state-owned Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) for the investments.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2025