The US plans to sell Israel about $7.4 billion in weapons, which will include missiles and ammunition, the Pentagon said, quoted by Reuters and BTA.
Shortly before Trump took office on January 20, the administration of his predecessor - Joe Biden - notified Congress that an $8 billion arms sale to Israel had been proposed.
Trump this week pledged to support Israel and also said that the US wants to take control of the Gaza Strip.
The Pentagon said today that the State Department had approved a package worth an estimated $6.75 billion. The deal includes ammunition, guidance kits and detonators, with Boeing among the main contractors.
The US Department of Defense also presented detailed information on a deal to sell Hellfire missiles worth $660 million, manufactured by Lockheed Martin.
US President Donald Trump said today that the US trade deficit with Japan could be quickly balanced, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Trump said this could be done simply by exporting US oil and gas to Japan. The Republican leader said that the Land of the Rising Sun had committed to soon start buying "record quantities" American natural gas, AFP reported.
"I am pleased to announce that Japan will soon be importing record quantities of clean liquefied natural gas from the United States", Trump said. "We are discussing a pipeline from Alaska, which is the closest point" for gas delivery to Japan, he added.
The US president also gave assurances that the US would act together with Japan in the fight against what he described as "Chinese economic aggression".
"We have agreed to cooperate even more closely in the fight against Chinese economic aggression", the US president said at a joint press conference.
Trump also announced that the Japanese company „Nippon Steel“ is abandoning the acquisition of the American steel company „US Steel“. The deal was supposed to be worth $14.1 billion. Trump has now said the Japanese company will make an “investment, not a purchase.” He said he would be a “mediator and arbitrator” while the companies negotiate the investment, Reuters reported.
President Joe Biden blocked the purchase before leaving office last month, citing national security concerns. In December, Trump said he was “totally opposed to the once great and powerful U.S. Steel being bought by a foreign company.”
At a press conference with Trump today, Ishiba said he understood Trump’s goal was a mutually beneficial trade policy, but added that over the past five years, Japanese companies have led the way in cumulative foreign direct investment in the United States. He assured that Japan is looking to invest more in the United States, the Associated Press reported.
Ishiba said that many people in Japan are excited about Trump's return to the White House. "This excitement is not only among politicians, but also among the general public, as well as among business leaders," Ishiba said. "There are many people who have been eagerly awaiting your return," he assured Trump.