The United States and Japan plan to spend $550 billion on synthetic diamonds

The governments of the United States and Japan are weighing a plan to steer part of a $550 billion investment package into synthetic diamond production on American soil, to secure critical technology supply chains.

The project would centre on a new synthetic diamond plant in the United States, which could be among the first investments unveiled under Tokyo’s massive package of financing for U.S.-based projects. Behind the scenes, officials see it as a quiet but important move to reduce dependence on China, which currently dominates global production of these industrial diamonds and has started tightening export controls on them.

The synthetic diamond plant is one of several candidate projects inside Japan’s huge $550 billion commitment to invest and provide financing in the U.S. under a recent trade deal that also cuts tariffs on Japanese exports.