Toyota denies its promise to invest $10 billion in the United States after Trump’s announcement Toyota
The Japanese auto giant Toyota Motor denied what Donald Trump said about its willingness to invest more than $10 billion in the United States in the coming years.
On a visit to Japan earlier this week, the US president claimed he was told the carmaker would set up factories “all over” the US “worth over $10 billion”.
“Go out and buy a Toyota,” Trump added.
But a senior executive at Toyota – the world’s largest automaker – said no such explicit promise of investment at this level had been made, even though Toyota plans to invest and create new jobs in the United States.
The company held talks with Japanese and American officials before Trump’s visit.
“During the first Trump administration, I think the number was roughly around $10 billion, so even though we did not mention the same size, we made it clear that we will continue to invest and create jobs as before,” Hiroyuki Ueda told reporters, on the sidelines of the Japan Mobility Expo in Tokyo. “So, perhaps because of that context, the number came out to be around $10 billion.”
Toyota “did not specifically say that we will invest $10 billion over the next few years,” Ueda said, adding that the topic of investment did not come up when Akio Toyoda, the company’s chairman, spoke with Trump at an event at the US Embassy on Tuesday.
Trump met with Japan’s new prime minister and first female prime minister, Sanae Takaishi, on Tuesday. He welcomed Takaichi’s pledge to accelerate military buildup, while also signing agreements on trade and rare earths.
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During the visit, Takaishi pledged to achieve a “golden era” in relations with the United States and “fundamentally strengthen her country’s defense posture.” The two leaders signed an agreement that establishes a framework for securing the mining and processing of rare earth elements and other minerals.
Reuters contributed reporting