Trump Claims Deals Were Signed on Middle East Tour. Here's a Closer Look.

New York Times

14-05-2025

The White House announced on Tuesday that President Trump had secured $600 billion in business deals with the Saudi government and companies during the first stage of his Middle East tour, though a list of the agreements the administration released totaled less than half that amount and several were already in the works before the president took office.
The list of some of the agreements published by the White House left many details vague. The value of the agreements appeared to total about $283 billion. It was unclear whether the sums had already been committed or whether the funding was new. The time frames for most of the deals were also not explained, though some were described as multiyear agreements.
The investments appear to flow both ways. Some of the deals on the list were U.S. companies putting money into Saudi ventures, rather than Saudi investment in American companies. Others were agreements by the Saudi government or companies to purchase goods and services from American companies.
Here's a look at some of the deals that were announced:
In addition to investments and business deals, a raft of agreements between U.S. and Saudi government departments and cultural institutions were announced. They include:
The deals built on earlier business relationships between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, the White House said. During his first term, Mr. Trump said he secured $450 billion of investments for the United States during his visit to Saudi Arabia in 2017. Later analysis by Tim Callen, former Saudi mission chief for the International Monetary Fund and a visiting fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington showed that this was exaggerated.