If countries want to keep the Trump administration from imposing tariffs on their exports to the United States, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggests they invest in Alaska’s proposed Liquified Natural Gas project.
Bessent spoke Wednesday outside the White House, after President Trump announced he would pause reciprocal tariffs for 90 days to allow countries to negotiate. A reporter asked Bessent what it would take for a country to block the imposition of tariffs beyond three months.
That’s when Bessent raised the Alaska project as a possible deal-maker.
“These are trade negotiations, but if countries want to come and offer other things — so I talked about yesterday that we are thinking about a big LNG project in Alaska, that South Korea, Japan (and) Taiwan are interested in financing and taking a substantial portion of the off-take,” Bessent said.
A country’s investment and purchase of Alaska’s natural gas would help reduce its trade imbalance with the United States, he said.
The State of Alaska has tried for years to secure investment in the project, particularly from potential customers in Asia. Cost remains a high hurdle. It would take an estimated $44 billion or more to build an 800-mile pipeline from the North Slope to the Kenai Peninsula, with a processing plant at the north end and a liquefaction plant at the terminus. From there, LNG tankers would take the fuel across the Pacific.
Countries might have more incentive to invest in Alaska LNG with the threat of tariffs hanging over them. But Trump’s tariff announcements have caused global economic shocks, which could hinder investment in big projects.
