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The United States and Japan announced Thursday a $40 billion project to build nuclear reactors in Tennessee and Alabama, after a meeting of the two countries' leaders in Washington.The talks between US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi came after Tokyo agreed last year to invest $550 billion through 2029 as part of a new trade pact with Washington.Thursday's joint statement on the so-called small modular reactors (SMRs) also announced a $33 billion investment in natural gas power generation facilities in Pennsylvania and Texas.The countries announced the first tranche of projects under the new investment fund in February, with $36 billion in commitments in three infrastructure projects.Thursday's statement said the projects would ensure security by "accelerating economic growth of both countries, thereby paving the way for a New Golden Age of the ever-growing Japan-US Alliance."It touted the SMRs, built by GE Vernova Hitachi , as providing "a tremendous next-generation stable power source, stabilizing electricity prices for American people and strengthening the Japan-US leadership in global technological competition ."Both sides also released an action plan Thursday on developing critical mineral supply chains , amid concerns about China's dominant role in the sector.It includes discussing coordinated trade policies and mechanisms, such as border-adjusted price floors, "focusing in the first instance on select critical minerals."