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Donald Trump has broadly endorsed Nippon Steel’s $15bn deal to buy US Steel, in an apparent reversal of his opposition to a cross-border transaction that was blocked by Joe Biden on national security grounds.
“This will be a planned partnership between United States Steel and Nippon Steel, which will create at least 70,000 jobs, and add $14 Billion Dollars to the US Economy,” the US president wrote in a social media post on Friday. He added that the “bulk” of that additional investment would be made in the next 14 months.
Trump’s post hailing the companies’ partnership was considered “tacit approval” by the administration for the $15bn merger they agreed at the end of 2023, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.
The US company would remain headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where it has been based for more than a century, Trump said. He plans to host a rally in the city on May 30.
Trump opposed Nippon Steel’s planned takeover of US Steel as he courted Pennsylvania’s blue-collar voters in last year’s presidential election campaign, saying it would be a “horrible thing” if it were sold to a foreign entity.
While his post on Friday was considered supportive, the person familiar with negotiations between the companies said that more meetings would be needed to formalise the president’s approval.
US Steel and the White House did not respond to requests for comment. Nippon Steel declined to comment.
The United Steelworkers union, which last year praised Trump for opposing Nippon Steel’s bid, said it was concerned that “a foreign corporation with a long and proven track record of violating our trade laws, will further erode domestic steelmaking capacity and jeopardise thousands of good, union jobs”.
The $15bn transaction has been ensnared in political concerns and national security worries since the agreement was reached at the end of 2023.
Then president Biden, vice-president Kamala Harris and Trump all opposed the deal on the campaign trail.
Nippon Steel has committed to investing more capital into the business in an effort to gain union and political support. Last week, the steelmaker agreed to quadruple its $2.7bn investment in a final push to clinch support from the Trump administration.
“My Tariff Policies will ensure that Steel will once again be, forever, MADE IN AMERICA,” the president added. The parameters of the deal, which had long been touted as an acquisition of the US company by Nippon Steel, were not immediately clear.
