President Trump announced on Wednesday that the electronics manufacturer Foxconn will be building a new U.S. plant in Wisconsin to produce LCD screens.
During the White House announcement, Trump was joined by Foxconn CEO Terry Gou, Vice President Pence, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.).
Some of the details of the project are still unclear, but the White House said during a call with reporters that Foxconn would be making a $10 billion investment and that the factory would create 3,000 jobs.
“To make such an incredible investment, Chairman Gou put his faith and confidence in the future of the American economy,” the president said during his speech. “In other words, if I didn’t get elected, he definitely would not be spending $10 billion.”
Walker said that the 20 million square-foot plant will be built in southeast Wisconsin and that the average salary for its workers will be $53,000 a year.
{mosads}While a senior White House official deferred a number of questions about the deal to Walker, he said the deal was secured by in part by the newly created White House team tasked with modernizing government operations that’s led by Trump senior adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
“This is a culmination of many months of discussion between the White House Office of American Innovation and Foxconn,” the official said.
Trump also met with Gou during the negotiations, the official added.
The White House said the new project is expected to be the first of many new U.S. plants from Foxconn, one of the biggest manufacturers of Apple products such as iPhones.
It’s unclear where the new plant will be located.
Trump told The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday that Apple CEO Tim Cook promised him that the company would create three new manufacturing plants in the U.S. — a claim the company declined to confirm.
It’s unclear if Apple is involved in Foxconn’s announcement.
— Jordan Fabian contributed.