Japan trade deal to bring $600M ‘diamond grit’ factory to Georgia
President Donald Trump’s administration is promising Georgia will get a $600 million advanced manufacturing plant as part of a trade agreement with Japan.
But details about the facility, which would produce synthetic diamond grit, are scarce, including where it could go in the state.
Earlier this week, federal officials announced the Japanese government would fund three projects in the U.S. totaling $36 billion, including the Georgia facility.
The investment is touted as a portion of the $550 billion economic deal with Japan announced last year “to rebuild and expand core American industries.” As part of the agreement, the White House agreed to lower the tariff rate on most Japanese imports to 15%, down from a threatened 25%.
Trump’s economic strategy has centered on leveraging tariffs to force trade deals with countries across the globe, which he has said will spur economic investment in the U.S. and generate revenue from import taxes. On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled many of Trump’s global tariffs were illegal without authorization of the legislative branch. It’s unclear how that ruling might affect new trade pacts or investment commitments made between the U.S. and foreign trade partners.
Diamond grit is a critical material used in industrial manufacturing and is vital to the semiconductor, automotive, oil and gas industries, the U.S. Department of Commerce said in a fact sheet. But most of the global production is overseas, especially in China.
The operator of the Georgia facility would be Element Six, according to the fact sheet. Element Six, a part of London-based diamond company De Beers Group, is a producer of synthetic diamond and tungsten carbide supermaterials.
A spokesperson for Element Six did not directly confirm the Georgia project nor answer several questions, including where the facility could be located.
“As a leading producer of synthetic diamond and advanced materials for industrial applications, we recognize the critical role they play in enabling many industrial sectors and look forward to further engagements with the relevant stakeholders,” the spokesperson said in an email, adding in another exchange that “we will share further information in due course.”
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said Japan would provide the capital for the project. In a statement, Lutnick said that the facility could meet 100% of the U.S. demand for synthetic diamond grit.
“We will no longer rely on foreign supply for this essential material,” he said. The Department of Commerce did not immediately respond to questions from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in a translated post on social media platform X that the plant would process automotive, aircraft and semiconductor materials and components “in areas where both Japan and the United States currently have a high degree of dependence on specific countries.”
Takaichi also said Japan’s trade deal with the U.S. would “jointly build resilient supply chains in strategically important areas for economic security” and bring increased sales and business expansion for Japanese companies through the supply of equipment, machinery and other products.
Japan has a large financial sector, and Japanese companies have served as equity partners on other Georgia projects, such as a new skyscraper that’s rising in Midtown.
A Georgia Department of Economic Development spokesperson did not provide any details about the project but said in an email the state’s business recruitment agency “welcomes the creation of good jobs for Georgians and stands ready to support that growth whenever and wherever we can be beneficial.”
The spokesperson added that Georgia has maintained a trade office in Japan for 50 years, and the state is a major hub for innovation and research, including “when it comes to the critical mineral supply chain needed to keep America safe and economically strong.”
If it comes to fruition, the project could rank as a major win for Trump, whose policies have been a contributor to high consumer anxiety about the economy. Trump campaigned on and entered office touting tariffs, taxes on imported goods, as a driver of economic growth.
The president has made constantly shifting trade policies a hallmark of his second term, often taking maximalist positions on tariffs to try to win concessions from other countries. Thus far, his tenure has been marked by slower job growth than during the Biden administration.
Many Georgia companies have said the chaotic implementation of tariffs has brought challenges to their business, such as increased costs.
“Without tariffs, this country would be in such trouble right now,” Trump said during his Thursday trip to Georgia, where he visited Coosa Steel in Rome to trumpet his economic agenda.
During the speech, Trump claimed his administration has secured commitments for $18 trillion of new investment to the U.S., though the Poynter Institute’s PolitiFact rates that statement as false.
The other projects the Japanese government is said to be backing include a $33 billion natural gas power facility in Portsmouth, Ohio, and a $2.1 billion deep-water crude oil export terminal on the Texas Gulf Coast.
The Wall Street Journal reports that profits from the projects would be split between Japan and the U.S. until Japan recovers its investment. Then, the U.S. would receive 90% of the profits, and Japan 10%.
“Japan is providing the capital,” Lutnick said in the statement. “The infrastructure is being built in the United States. The proceeds are structured so Japan earns its return, and America gains strategic assets, expanded industrial capacity and strengthened energy dominance.”
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