Korea Zinc Commits $6.6 B Tennessee Smelter as Trump Highlights Japanese Projects
Updated (6 articles)
Korea Zinc Announces $6.6 B Clarksville Refinery The South Korean firm will invest $6.6 billion in a near‑7‑million‑square‑foot integrated smelter in Clarksville, Tennessee, capable of processing 1.1 million tons of ore into zinc each year and producing eleven designated critical minerals; construction will begin soon and production is slated for 2029, creating 420 permanent jobs for the region [1].
U.S. Deputy Secretary Frames Deal as Diplomatic Win Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau posted on X on Feb 20, 2026, calling the Korea Zinc investment a “win‑win economic diplomacy” that aligns with U.S. strategic mineral goals and fulfills pledges made under the Trump administration, while highlighting the boost to local suppliers and contractors [1].
Trump Announces First Japanese Projects Under $550 B Trade Pact On Feb 17, President Donald Trump used Truth Social to unveil three Japan‑backed projects—oil & gas in Texas, a 9.2‑GW gas‑powered plant in Ohio, and a critical‑minerals facility in Georgia—totaling $36 billion and representing the inaugural tranche of Japan’s commitments under the new bilateral trade agreement [2][3].
Tariffs Presented as Catalyst for Investment Trump asserted that “one very special word, tariffs” enabled the Japanese projects, promising hundreds of thousands of jobs, describing the Ohio plant as the largest gas‑power facility ever built, the Gulf‑of‑America LNG hub as a major export driver, and the Georgia plant as a synthetic‑diamond operation that will meet 100 % of U.S. demand [2][3].
Upcoming U.S.–Japan Summit and South Korea Pressure White House summit with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is scheduled for next month following the Liberal Democratic Party’s landslide victory, while Washington has warned South Korea that failure to meet its $350 billion investment pledge could trigger a rise in reciprocal tariffs from 15 % to 25 % [2][3].
Sources
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1.
Yonhap: U.S. Deputy Secretary Highlights Korea Zinc’s $6.6 B Tennessee Project: Summarizes Landau’s X announcement, detailing the $6.6 billion investment, job creation, 2029 production start, and diplomatic framing of the deal .
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2.
Yonhap: Trump Announces Three Japanese Investment Projects in Texas, Ohio, Georgia: Describes Trump’s Truth Social reveal of $36 billion Japanese projects across energy and critical minerals, emphasizes tariff justification and the upcoming U.S.–Japan summit .
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Yonhap: Trump Unveils First Japanese Investment Projects Under $550 B Trade Deal: Mirrors the Feb 17 announcement with added focus on facility scale, a photo of Trump and Takaichi aboard USS George Washington, and pressure on South Korea’s investment commitments .
Timeline
Aug 2025 – Korea Zinc Chairman Choi Yoon‑beom announces a strategic metals partnership with the United States during a summit between the Korean and U.S. presidents, and signs a memorandum with Lockheed Martin to invest about 140 billion won in a germanium‑producing facility in South Korea [6].
Dec 14, 2025 – Korea Zinc and the U.S. government agree to a joint 10‑trillion‑won (US$6.8 billion) critical‑metals refinery investment in the Southeast, with the U.S. contributing roughly 2 trillion won via defense‑firm partners; a board meeting later that day will finalize the plan and a site will be chosen from about 60 candidates [6].
Dec 15, 2025 – Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick posts on X that the Korea Zinc partnership is a “big win,” noting the refinery will produce gallium, germanium, indium, antimony, copper, silver, gold and zinc for U.S. defense, semiconductor, AI, quantum‑computing and data‑center needs, and that the United States will have priority access to the output starting 2026 [5].
Dec 24, 2025 – The Seoul Central District Court dismisses an injunction filed by Young Poong Corp. and MBK Partners, clearing the way for Korea Zinc to raise 2.85 trillion won through a third‑party allotment to a joint venture with the U.S. Department of Defense, a financing step essential to the Tennessee refinery project [4].
Feb 17, 2026 – President Donald Trump uses Truth Social to unveil three Japan‑backed projects in Texas (oil & gas), Ohio (9.2‑GW gas‑power plant) and Georgia (synthetic industrial‑diamond plant), declaring that “one very special word, TARIFFS,” made the deals possible and promising “hundreds of thousands of jobs” and an end to “foolish dependence on foreign sources” [3]; a White House summit with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is scheduled for the following month [2].
Feb 20, 2026 – Deputy Secretary Christopher Landau announces on X that Korea Zinc will invest $6.6 billion in a nearly 7‑million‑square‑foot integrated smelter in Clarksville, Tennessee, creating 420 jobs and slated to begin producing eleven designated critical minerals in 2029; he frames the deal as a “win‑win economic diplomacy” linking it to prior U.S. investment pledges [1].
All related articles (6 articles)
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Yonhap: U.S. Deputy Secretary Highlights Korea Zinc’s $6.6 B Tennessee Project
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