In a tweet early Friday morning, Trump praised Toyota and Mazda for investing $1.6 billion in a new U.S. assembly plant.
“Toyota & Mazda to build a new $1.6B plant here in the U.S.A. and create 4K new American jobs. A great investment in American manufacturing!” the President tweeted.
The Japanese automakers announced the partnership Friday. The plant is slated to open in 2021, and will produce up to 300,000 vehicles a year, mainly crossover SUVs for Mazda, and Corolla sedans for Toyota.
The plant will also employ about 4,000 people — a nod to Trump, who has campaigned on the promise that he would increase manufacturing in the U.S. and also create new jobs for autoworkers across the country.
Toyota & Mazda to build a new $1.6B plant here in the U.S.A. and create 4K new American jobs. A great investment in American manufacturing!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 4, 2017
The announcement comes after Trump threatened to impose excessive taxes on Toyota in January. At the time, the automaker was considering making cars for the U.S. market in Mexico.
“Toyota Motor said will build a new plant in Baja, Mexico, to build Corolla cars for U.S. NO WAY! Build plant in U.S. or pay big border tax,” Trump tweeted at the time.
After his initial tweet Friday morning, Trump tweeted again, writing: “….and don’t forget that Foxconn will be spending up to 10 billion dollars on a top of the line plant/plants in Wisconsin.”
….and don't forget that Foxconn will be spending up to 10 billion dollars on a top of the line plant/plants in Wisconsin.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 4, 2017
The Taiwanese electronics manufacturer, which helps produce iPhones for Apple, announced plans in late July to build a $10 billion plant in Wisconsin. Earlier this week, Trump said that Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou told him “off the record” that the manufacturer would increase its $10 billion pledge to $30 billion.