WASILLA, Alaska—President Donald Trump announced Tuesday evening that Taiwan has agreed to purchase a staggering 30 percent of the natural gas shipped every year through a proposed 807-mile pipeline project in Alaska. As part of the deal, the Taiwanese government will also invest $4.4 billion in the project, Trump said.
Trump delivered the news to a packed crowd of supporters during a campaign rally held in a local events center in Wasilla, Alaska, to support Sen. Dan Sullivan's (R.) and Rep. Nick Begich's (R.) reelection bids. In the crowd, some attendees held signs urging Trump to advance the pipeline project, and after he announced the deal, the crowd chanted, "Build the line."
"It's one of the biggest commitments in history for anything," Trump remarked. "It's one of the biggest deals ever made."
Trump—who was flanked by a large "Make America Great Again" sign and a screen that stated, "Alaska, vote on November 3"—added that the federal government had approved "every single permit" needed for the pipeline. "You can start tonight," he said.
The announcement represents a significant milestone for the behemoth, billion-dollar north-to-south project, known as the Alaska LNG pipeline, and one that could ultimately help its developer finally move forward with construction after years of delays. The pipeline was first proposed more than two decades ago but has since faced a number of setbacks, including failure to secure proper financing to get off the ground and disagreements within the Alaska State Legislature over funding arrangements for the project.
The pipeline's developer, Glenfarne Group, has said it won't build the pipeline until it has commitments from commercial buyers to purchase 80 percent of the pipeline's 20 million metric-ton-per-year capacity. As of September, the pipeline was three million metric tons per year short of that goal, according to the company. The Taiwan deal could theoretically help it overcome that shortfall.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who helped strike the deal with Taiwan and was in attendance Tuesday, told the Washington Free Beacon following the rally that it is a "really good start."
Trump was more bullish during his remarks: "It guarantees success," he said.
If the pipeline were to finally move forward, it would represent a significant victory for Trump, who has made the project a central pillar of his energy agenda and ordered his administration to fast-track its development shortly after he took office in 2025. Last month, the president announced that South Korea had agreed to invest more than $50 billion in the project.
Trump has repeatedly touted the project's potential economic impact. Trump said Tuesday that the pipeline would save the typical Alaska household more than $2,000 a year on energy bills. "And it's going to end up being much higher than that," he added.
According to Alaska Gasline Development Corporation, a state-owned firm that owns a 25 percent stake in the project, the pipeline would create 11,053 construction jobs and 5,886 operational jobs and generate tens of billions of dollars in gross domestic product for Alaska.
In addition to announcing the Taiwan deal, Trump touted some of his other Alaska-focused energy policies during the rally. For example, he noted actions his administration has taken to free up tens of millions of acres in Alaska's oil-rich National Petroleum Reserve and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for drilling and a move to approve permits for a central Alaskan road that would pave the way for more mining projects.
He also issued pardons for three owners of an Alaskan autobody shop, Zachary Czubak, Patrick Fleming, and Michael Hanzuk, who had been convicted of violating environmental laws after they removed emission control devices in customer vehicles for a fee. "We are not criminals, we are not trying to hurt anybody. We want to help Alaskans. We want to help people with diesel trucks and vehicles," Czubak, one of the mechanics who received a pardon, said onstage during the rally.
Trump spent much of his time urging Alaskans to vote for Sullivan and Begich in the upcoming midterm election. Both incumbents are locked in tight races that could help decide the balance of power in the House and Senate.
Trump said both Sullivan and Begich had played instrumental roles in crafting his administration's energy policies, including advocating for the Alaska LNG pipeline. He warned that those policies will immediately face resistance if Republicans fail to maintain majority control of the two chambers, saying that Democrats will "viciously crush Alaskan energy."
Affordability and the economy, meanwhile, remain the most important issues for both Republican and Democratic voters ahead of the election, according to the latest Pew Research data. Alaskans, in particular, have experienced some of the highest energy inflation in recent months and years: Electricity costs in the state are nearly double the national average, and pump prices in the state are nearly $5 per gallon, AAA data show.
