Trump Effect website claims credit for $2.6 trillion in new investments

Qatar Tribune

a day ago

Agencies
Within hours of taking office in January, President Donald Trump boasted about attracting $3 trillion in new corporate investments to the United States. Since then, Trump has said the investments have swelled to $14 trillion, or roughly half of the nation's annual gross domestic product.
The White House calls it 'The Trump Effect' and features a rolling list on its website of more than 70 projects it says Trump's economic policies spurred, from a new bakery plant in Texas to a LEGO facility in Virginia and a microchip plant in Arizona.
As of July 2, the website listed more than $2.6 trillion in US investments, well short of the $14 trillion Trump boasts about. But a Reuters review found that just under half of the claimed spending on the website - totaling more than $1.3 trillion - originated under former President Joe Biden or represented routine spending repackaged to promote domestic investments.
At least eight of the projects touted by the White House had sought or secured critical local incentive packages before Trump took office while at least a half dozen other projects had already been announced by local officials or the companies themselves, Reuters found.
Two of the Trump Effect projects were aided by Biden's legislative efforts to boost domestic manufacturing, the review found.
One company on the list, Swiss-based Roche, warned that Trump's plans to equalize US and international drug prices now threatens its promised $50 billion in US investments.
Asked about taking credit for projects already underway before Trump came into office, the White House said the final investment decisions were announced under his watch and prove his economic policies are triggering US investment.
'President Trump is the greatest closer in modern history, and his leadership and policies are a critical catalyst converting hypothetical discussions into firm investment commitments and ground being broken for new plants and offices,' White House spokesman Kush Desai said.
The Reuters review included interviewing local officials and reviewing public records and corporate statements. It was not clear in many cases what role, if any, Trump or his policies played in getting the deals across the line.
Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody's Analytics, said his economic forecast - along with the consensus estimates - for investment in the economy has remained relatively unchanged despite the White House's claims of new historic investments.
'I think despite all the announcements it hasn't translated into any change in expectations,' Zandi said. 'The fundamentals that ultimately drive investment spending, broadly, if anything, appear to have weakened since the start of the year.' Trump's push to impose sweeping tariffs on dozens of trading partners has injected uncertainty into global markets, lowering economic projections and freezing investment decisions, Zandi said.