It is the top U.S. state for per-capita foreign direct investment from Japan, including higher-technology and better-paying manufacturing jobs, said Victor Smith, Pence’s commerce secretary when he led the state.
“This is not your dingy lit, oil-on-the-floor manufacturing facilities. These are LED-lit, epoxy-sealed floors with robots everywhere,” Smith said in an interview on Friday.
The Trump administration wants to find more of that kind of foreign direct investment, and hopes to attract some with the $1 trillion plan to rebuild U.S. roads, bridges and other types of infrastructure.
Pence will take that message to upcoming stops this week in Jakarta and Sydney. While no immediate announcements are expected from Tokyo, the White House expects a “handful” of investment announcements while Pence is in Australia this weekend, the adviser said.
Pence is due to meet with business leaders at each of his stops, starting on Tuesday morning in Seoul. Those sessions are aimed at reassuring businesses that trade in the United States is worth their while.
“Part of the trip is the very big symbolism of listening,” the adviser said. “We’re not pivoting away from the region.”
