Benjamin Netanyahu nominates President Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize
President Donald Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House.
July 8 (Reuters) – Within hours of taking office in January, President Donald Trump boasted of attracting $3 trillion in new corporate investments in the United States. Since then, Trump has said his investment has swelled to $14 trillion, or about half of gross domestic product.
The White House calls it the “Trump Effect,” featuring a rolling list on websites for more than 70 projects spurred by Trump’s economic policy, from new bakery plants in Texas to Lego facilities in Virginia and microchip factories in Arizona.
As of July 2, the website listed more than $2.6 trillion in US investments.
However, a Reuters review found that less than half of the spending on the website charged (over $1.3 trillion in total) comes under former President Joe Biden or represents daily spending that has been repackaged to promote domestic investment.
At least eight projects promoted by the White House had sought or secured important local incentive packages before Trump took office, but at least half a dozen other projects had already been announced by local officials or the company itself, Reuters found.
Two Trump Effect projects were supported by Biden’s legislative efforts to boost domestic manufacturing, the review found.
One Swiss-based Roche company on the list warned that Trump’s plan to equalize the US and international drug prices threaten US investment of $50 billion.
Asked about taking credit for an already-in-the-go project before Trump took office, the White House said the final investment decision was announced under his surveillance, demonstrating that his economic policy is causing US investment.
“President Trump is the closest in modern history, and his leadership and policies are a key catalyst for transforming virtual debates into solid investment commitments and breaking down for new factories and offices,” said White House spokesman Kush Desai.
The Reuters review included interviews with local officials and reviews of public records and corporate statements. It was often not clear what role Trump or his policies played.
Moody’s Chief Economist, Mark Zandy, said that despite his economic forecasts and consensus estimates, economic forecasts for investments for the economy are relatively unchanged despite the White House’s claims of new historic investments.
“I don’t think despite all the announcements, it’s been translated into a change in expectations,” Zandi said. “The foundations that ultimately drive investment spending are broad and, if any, appear to have been weakened from the beginning of the year.”
Zandi said Trump’s attempt to impose sweep tariffs on dozens of trading partners injected uncertainty into global markets, lowered economic forecasts and frozen investment decisions.
Trump supporters say the deregulation policy combined with his corporate tax cut extension last week sparked interest from businesses that will be converted into real investments in the coming months.
“I think we’ll invest more later this year and certainly next year,” said Richard Stern, director of economic budget policy at the Conservative Heritage Foundation.
Trump Effect
According to the White House, Trump’s effectiveness list is not exhaustive and does not include foreign deals Trump secured on his Middle East tour in May.
The White House refused to respond to Reuters’ demands to provide a $14 trillion breakdown of US investments that Trump claims he attracted.
Trump would not have been the first president to inflate and decorate economic activity with his watch. But the former businessman made his deal the heart of his political persona, and promised that his presidency would ignite the manufacturing renaissance that would bring work back to the US
Some companies, primarily in the pharmaceutical industry, have repackaged existing spending, which was later promoted as new investments by Trump. The pharmaceutical company also praised Trump’s 2017 tax cuts for spurring domestic investment.
David Licks, CEO of Eli Lilly, created the blueprint, said James Singh, a pharmaceutical analyst at Deutsche Bank Securities. Ricks joined the top management staff in February, unveiling a US investment of $27 billion over five years.
The figure has attracted praise from Trump, who said his tariffs proved he was working to promote manufacturing in the country, but this figure represents a small increase from the $23 million he spent in the US since 2020.
“Everyone saw Donald Trump blessing David Ricks every time he spoke,” Singh said. “I think Lily was very wise in that timing and messaging.”
A spokesman for Eli Lilly did not address Reuters questions about the rise in the company’s spending and the role Trump played in the announcement.
Credit claim
This is a sample of a project found by Reuters, which is included in the White House Trump Effects website.
Hyundai: The South Korean automaker has been added to the Trump Effect list after unveiling its $5.8 billion Louisiana steel factory in March. However, state officials said they chose the Louisiana site in December 2024 after a nationwide search. Hyundai did not respond to requests for comment,
Corning: Global Material Science Company has been added to the list after $1.5 billion investment in Michigan was highlighted in an April press release.
However, the figures include $900 million in funds announced at the factory in February last year. The project benefits from federal tax credits under the Chips Science Act, a bipartisan measure passed under Biden, which encourages domestic production.
Trump is asking Congress to curb chip funding and call the law “terrifying, terrifying.”
The company won’t say whether Trump has a direct connection to investment.
LEGO: The iconic toy maker announced Virginia’s new $366 million distribution center in May, which was added to Trump’s website. According to Virginia Economic Development spokesman Pryor Green, the company began working with Virginia on a package of state and local incentives in 2022, about three years before Trump took office.
The company did not respond to requests for comment.
Clasen Quality Chocolate: Candy Company announced Virginia’s new $230 million production facility in February, adding it to Trump’s website.
However, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership began working with the company about seven months before Trump took office, with Governor Glenn Youngkin approved the $3 million grant for the project on December 3, Green told Reuters.
The company did not respond to requests for comment.
Chobani: The White House added yogurt makers to its list after it announced its $1.2 billion production plant in New York in April. However, Chobani, who refused to respond to a request for comment, had contacted the state about the project last May, and benefited from a state program that seduces businesses with shovel-enabled sites.
Local incentives
Several other deals Trump touted have represented routine capital investments, either hit before he took office or spurred by state and local incentive packages, Reuters reviews found.
Pharmaceutical companies Merck and Johnson & Johnson have both announced billions of dollars in US investments, including projects already under construction, which were previously announced.
The White House list includes the $2 billion Merck project already underway in North Carolina and Delaware, and the $2 billion North Carolina project under construction by Johnson & Johnson, the statement said.
Merck did not address Reuters questions about Trump’s role in investment decisions as Johnson & Johnson did not respond to requests for comment.
Many of the projects on the list relied heavily on state and local incentive packages (such as grants and tax cuts) approved before Trump took office in January. States typically use incentive packages as bait and compete with each other for corporate investments.
Locally supported projects on the Trump Effect List include Diageo, a British alcoholic beverage company. Diajo was supported by a new $415 million Alabama factory, about three years before Trump took office, with state and local tax systems dating back to 2022, according to Alabama Secretary of Commerce Stephania Jones.
Diageo did not respond to requests for comment.
For example, Ireland-based power management company Eaton Corporation, French pottery manufacturer St. Goubine, and Paris Baguette in Paris, South Korea, were all highlighted on the Trump Effect List, but records and interviews show that Trump secured a local incentive package before he took office.
The company did not respond to requests for comment.
Technology investment
In some cases, investments promoted by the White House and the companies represent normal business costs.
Apple CEO Tim Cook announced in February that his iconic company will invest $500 billion over five years to hire 20,000 workers and build a new AI server. Trump grabbed in the announcement that he said on his true social media platform that he had shown “faith in what we’re doing.”
However, according to three analysts, Apple’s released figures are in line with what the company might expect to spend anyway, considering its finances.
“For Apple, the majority of this would have happened regardless of who’s president,” said Dan Ives, senior equity analyst at Wedbush Securities.
It also reflects previous commitments.
Four years ago, months after Biden’s inauguration, Apple announced its “acceleration” of US investment, pledging to spend $400 billion over five years and add 20,000 jobs.
In January 2018, during Trump’s first term, the company said its “direct contribution to the US economy” would be $350 billion over five years, creating 20,000 jobs over that period.
Another pledge to spend $500 billion on a new data center to power an artificial intelligence program called “Stargate” comes from ChatGpt-Maker Openai, Japanese conglomerate Softbank and business software giant Oracle.
The company plans to spend $100 billion “quickly” on its list, but said it is still in negotiations with various states about where the new data center is located.
“As announced in January, Stargate is committed to building up to $500 billion in AI infrastructure in the US over the next four years,” SoftBank and Openai said in a joint statement to Reuters.
Oracle did not respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Jarrett Renshawediting by Colleen Jenkins and Michael Leamons)
