[WEST MIFFLIN] US President Donald Trump on Friday (May 30) lauded a “partnership” between Nippon Steel and US Steel at a political rally but stopped short of clarifying whether he planned to approve the companies’ diplomatically sensitive merger.
On a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-area stage decorated with signs celebrating “American steel”, Trump appeared to signal he would support a long-sought tie-up between the Japanese and US companies that he once opposed.
The planned acquisition, initially floated in 2023, has divided the politically important state of Pennsylvania, its heavily unionised blue-collar workforce and introduced tension into the normally friendly US-Japanese relations.
““We’re here today to celebrate a blockbuster agreement that will ensure this storied American company stays an American company,” Trump told more than 1,600 people, including hard hat-wearing workers. “You’re going to stay an American company, you know that right? But we’re going to have a great partner.”
Proponents of the transaction are hoping Trump’s visit would end a tumultuous 18-month effort by Nippon Steel to buy the iconic American company, beset by opposition from union leadership and two national security reviews. The White House and the companies have not responded to requests for comment on the status of deal talks.
But the deal is likely not entirely done. Trump announced the rally and appeared to endorse the merger last Friday in a social media post, sending US Steel’s share price up over 20 per cent as investors bet he would soon give it the elusive greenlight.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
On Sunday, he sowed doubt, describing the deal to reporters not as the full takeover Nippon is seeking but as an investment with “partial ownership,” and control residing in the US.
US Steel is headquartered in Pennsylvania, which symbolised both the one-time strength and the decline of US manufacturing power as the Rust Belt’s steel plants and factories lost business to international rivals. The state’s population swings between supporting Democrats and Republicans, making it a major prize in presidential elections.
“We would not be here today without President Trump, who has secured the company’s future by approving our partnership,” said Nippon vice-chair Takahiro Mori at the Pennsylvania rally before Trump.
But in a sign of the many open questions that remain, Japan’s top trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, told reporters on Friday that he could not yet comment on the tie-up due to a lack of any official announcements.
“I am aware of the various reports and posts by President Trump on social media. However, there has not yet been an official announcement from the US government,” Akazawa, in Washington for tariff negotiations, said at a briefing at the Japanese Embassy in Washington.
Trump technically has until next Thursday to decide whether to formally approve or scuttle the deal, after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US last week completed a second review of the merger. But the timeline could slip.
The road to Friday’s rally has been a bumpy one.
Nippon Steel offered US$14.9 billion for US Steel in December 2023, seeking to capitalize on an expected ramp up in steel purchases, thanks to the bipartisan infrastructure law.
But the tie-up faced headwinds from the start, with both then-President Joe Biden and Trump asserting US Steel should remain American-owned as they sought to woo voters in Pennsylvania ahead of the November presidential elections. Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who became the Democratic nominee in 2024 after Biden stepped aside, also said US Steel should remain domestically owned.
Following a previous review, Biden blocked the deal in January on national security grounds.
The companies sued, arguing they did not receive a fair review process, a charge the Biden White House disputed.
The steel giants saw a new opportunity in the Trump administration, which opened a fresh 45-day national security review into the proposed merger last month.
But Trump’s public comments, ranging from welcoming a simple “investment” in US Steel by the Japanese firm to suggesting a minority stake for Nippon Steel, did little to shore up investor confidence in an eventual green light.
Reuters reported last week that Nippon Steel had floated plans to invest US$14 billion in US Steel’s operations including up to US$4 billion in a new steel mill if the Trump administration green lights its merger bid, in response to requests from the government for more investment.
“This will be a planned partnership between United States Steel and Nippon Steel, which will create at least 70,000 jobs, and add US$14 billion dollars to the US Economy,” Trump posted last Friday, breathing new hope into prospects for the tie-up. “I will see you all at US Steel, in Pittsburgh, on Friday, May 30th, for a BIG Rally. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!” REUTERS
