President Donald Trump has claimed that histariff policies have triggered an unprecedented wave of new investment into the
U.S. economy, as companies choose to build domestically, in order to avoid the
high duties on imports.
We’ve Taken InMore Than ‘$18 Trillion’
While delivering his remarks at the WhiteHouse Christmas reception on Sunday, Trump said, “We’ve taken in more investment money than any country has ever taken inby four times,” adding that “There’s never been anything like it,” as a resultof his administration’s trade and tariff policies overthe past year.
“Because of the tariffs, we’ve taken in more than $18 trillion,” hesaid, while noting that in the previous administration, “sleepy Joe Biden, took in less than $1 trillion in four years.”
“Without the November 5th election, youwould have had a president that didn’t have the courageto use tariffs the way they should be used,” Trumpsaid.
Trump argued that tariffs are reshapingglobal business decisions, saying companies are now choosing to build factories
in the U.S. rather than face import taxes. “They don’t want to pay tariffs,” he said. “So instead of paying, they come in and build their plant in theUnited States. It's pretty simple.”
He cited Japanese automaker Toyota MotorCorp. (NYSE:TM), claiming that the company “justannounced they’re going to spend $10 billion buildingplants” in the U.S.
Calling the current moment the beginning ofa “golden age” for the Americaneconomy, Trump reiterated his point, saying, “They'recoming from Germany. They’re coming from Japan. They’re coming from Canada,” while adding that “hundreds of billions of dollars” are pouringinto U.S. manufacturing.
Economists Push Back On Trump’s Claims
Trump has repeated these claims severaltimes in the past, touting several trillions in investments resulting from his
trade policies over the past year.
Economist Peter Schiff has called out thefallacy of such claims, noting that the U.S. GDP currently stands at $30.6
trillion, so an investment of this magnitude would result in the nation’s GDP exploding “by roughly 50%,” while also leading the U.S. Dollar to “skyrocket.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, however,has said that Trump’s claims “arereal,” while highlighting the trade deals with Japanand South Korea, which are set to bring in $550 billion and $350 billion,
respectively, alongside Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL)ambitious “$500 billion” planto reshore its manufacturing.
“President Trump is laying the foundationfor a Golden Age economy,” Bessent said, withinvestments in the United States touching “recordamounts.”
Despite this, the White House’s own “Major Investment Announcements” page lists the total U.S. and foreign investments at $9.6 trillion.This comes after significantly overstating figures, with Japan’s total investment being cited as $1 trillion, despite officialfigures indicating $550 billion.
Similarly, Micron Technology Inc.(NASDAQ:MU), which, according to the page, is set to invest $200 billion in the
country, is earmarked for manufacturing and research over the next 20-plus
years.
According to the U.S. Bureau of EconomicAnalysis, foreign direct investments in the U.S. stood at $43.0 billion and
$101.8 billion during the first and second quarters of 2025, which is a far cry
from the trillion-dollar claims made by Trump.
Even corporate investment levels remainroughly in line with prior year figures at $5 trillion, based on Federal data,
according to a report by CBS News.
The White House did not immediately respondto Benzinga’s request for clarification on thesediscrepancies. This story will be updated as soon as we receive a response.