Trade minister Ryosei Akazawa is off to Washington again Thursday to discuss the second round of projects to be funded by Japan under its $550 billion capital commitment to the United States.

He is expected to meet with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, according to Japanese news reports, and might wrap up a number of pending projects days before Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi¡¯s scheduled White House visit on March 19.

The trip will be his 12th visit to Washington since tariff negotiations started last April, and the second this year. He is returning to Tokyo on Sunday.

The first round of projects was announced in February: a $33 billion natural gas power plant in Ohio, a $2.1 billion deepwater crude oil export facility in Texas and a $600 million synthetic industrial diamond plant in Georgia.

The three projects combined will consume $36 billion of the $550 billion total capital committed.

Earlier reports indicated that next-generation nuclear reactors are on the short list for the second round of projects.

As part of a trade deal struck last July, Japan agreed to commit $550 billion to critical industries and technologies in the United States, in exchange for lower tariffs on Japanese automobiles and other products.

Under a memorandum of understanding signed last September, a U.S. committee chaired by the commerce secretary selects projects for Japan to fund. A separate committee with Japanese participation provides input before the project is sent to President Donald Trump for his consideration.

Tokyo has said it will abide by the terms of the trade deal ¡ª including a $550 billion capital commitment ¡ª after the U.S. Supreme Court declared a class of tariffs central to the agreement illegal.

Akazawa is also expected to discuss Japan¡¯s treatment under new U.S. tariffs, according to Kyodo.

The White House initiated a 10% universal tariff on most goods to replace ¡°reciprocal¡± tariffs struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. Unlike the reciprocal tariffs, which are capped at 15% for Japan under the trade agreement, the new tariff is charged on top of existing tariffs and could result in duties above 15% for items that have an existing tariff rate higher than 5%.

Akazawa has said that Japan should not be worse off under the new tariffs.

The latest round of working-level consultations on the $550 billion pledge was held on Tuesday. During the discussions, Japan and the United States exchanged views ¡°with an eye toward the upcoming Japan-U.S. summit,¡± and agreed to coordinate toward ¡°structuring specific projects,¡± according to a trade ministry statement.