President Donald Trump announced Friday that Japan’s Nippon Steel plans to make a large investment in U.S. Steel but will not purchase the company.
Appearing at a joint news conference with Prime Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Trump said that Nippon “is going to be doing something very exciting about U.S. Steel. They’ll be looking at an investment rather than a purchase. U.S. Steel is a very important company to us.”
“I’ll be there to mediate and arbitrate,” the president added, noting representatives of the two companies are slated to meet next week and work toward a deal.
U.S. Steel, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was founded in 1901, with business icons Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, Charles Schwab, and Elbert Gary all playing a role.
The president appeared to mistakenly refer to Nippon as Nissan, the Japanese auto manufacturer, during the news conference, but Nippon was the company that had made a nearly $15 billion bid to buy U.S. Steel in December 2023, the Associated Press reported.
President Donald Trump said that Japan-based Nippon Steel will drop its bid to purchase U.S. Steel, and instead will invest in the company.
“They’ve agreed to invest heavily in U.S. Steel as opposed to own it.” pic.twitter.com/mev6ay8Lop
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 7, 2025
Ishiba confirmed Nippon’s plans during the news conference. “Investment is mutually beneficial, so be it with U.S. Steel, as Mr. President says, it is not acquisition, it is investment. So the Japanese technology will be provided and better quality products will be manufactured in the United States.”
“And U.S. Steel will make products which will contribute not only to the United States and Japan but also to the whole world. It is not one-sided. It will be reciprocal,” the prime minister said.
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Fox Business Network’s Edward Lawrence followed up by asking Trump, “Is this a restructuring of the deal that’s happening and will you approve?”
“They’re doing it as an investment, no longer a purchase. I didn’t want it purchased, but investment I love, and they’re going to do a big investment, subject to getting the deal done,” Trump answered.
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The president’s announcement came after Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy reported earlier in the day, citing a CBS News story, that Trump was considering allowing Nippon to purchase U.S. Steel outright.
PETER DOOCY: President Trump is considering allowing Japan’s Nippon Steel to complete its $14.1 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel pic.twitter.com/fFWuR2LMaa
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) February 7, 2025
The proposed purchase quickly became a campaign issue last year, with Trump and ultimately then-President Joe Biden opposing the acquisition.
In October, union members from U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works got on the stage with Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania to endorse him.
They thanked him for placing tariffs on steel coming into the U.S. during his first term, saying it helped save their jobs.
Union members representing US Steel, the iconic steel company that is set to be sold to Japan, just got on stage at the Pennsylvania rally to endorse Trump
They said Trump saved their jobs with his tariffs against China and others. pic.twitter.com/QwlgV8x0dj
— George (@BehizyTweets) October 19, 2024
Trump posted on Truth Social in early December, “I am totally against the once great and powerful U.S. Steel being bought by a foreign company, in this case Nippon Steel of Japan. Through a series of Tax Incentives and Tariffs, we will make U.S. Steel Strong and Great Again, and it will happen FAST!”
“As President, I will block this deal from happening. Buyer Beware!!!”
Biden issued an executive order early last month blocking the sale.
CNN reported that the United Steelworkers union strongly opposed the purchase, fearing Nippon would close older mill facilities in Pennsylvania and Indiana before transferring production to U.S. Steel’s newer mini-mill operation in Texas.
U.S. Steel and Nippon issued a joint statement at the time promising to challenge Biden’s executive order in court “to protect our legal rights.”
The companies said, “Nippon Steel is the only partner both willing and able to make the necessary investments – including at least $1 billion to Mon Valley Works and approximately $300 million to Gary Works as a part of $2.7 billion in investment that it has already committed – to protect and grow U. S. Steel as an iconic American company for the benefit of the communities in which it operates and the entire American steel industry.”
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