Trump announces 'fully expedited approvals' for anyone investing $1 bn in US

To attract more investments in America, President-elect Donald Trump has pledged “fully expedited permits,” including environmental approvals for any person or company investing at least $1 billion into the US.

Announcing the plan on his Truth Social account, Trump said: “Anyone making a $1 billion investment in the United States will receive fully expedited approvals and permits, including, but in no way limited to, all Environmental approvals.”

Trump ended his post with the strong and positive call: “GET READY TO ROCK!!!”

The US President elect, however, did not specify who would be eligible for the fast-tracked approvals and permits, but energy projects including natural gas pipelines, export terminals, solar farms and offshore wind turbines meet the $1 billion criteria.

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The latest announcement by Trump is seen as a boon to companies that have been complaining about delays regarding such assessments.

‘Awesome,’ says Musk

Billionaire Elon Musk, who is also the CEO Tesla, an EV company that has been accused of violating environmental regulations in the US recently, has praised the announcement by Trump.

In a post on X, Musk said, “This is awesome.”

This is awesome 🚀🇺🇸 https://t.co/v7CgpLcaLr

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 10, 2024

When will it come into effect?

The transition team of Trump has been working on a package to roll out within days of his taking office on January 20, 2025 to approve export permits for liquefied natural gas projects and to increase oil drilling on federal lands and off the U.S. coast, sources familiar have said.

As per the US National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), it is mandatory for government agencies to assess environmental effects before approving any energy or infrastructure projects like pipeline and highways.

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Though the announcement was welcomes by energy stakeholders, it sparked immediate backlash from from environmental advocates. Critics argued that the decision violates NEPA .

According to a report by Reuters, Trump also plans to repeal some aspects of Democratic President Joe Biden’s regulations and top climate legislation, such as tax credits for electric vehicles and new clean power plant standards that aim to phase out coal and natural gas.

With inputs from agencies.