Trump considering allowing sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel
President Trump is considering allowing Japan’s Nippon Steel to complete its $14.1 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel, according to multiple sources.
Approval of the transaction isn’t definite, and Mr. Trump has not made a final decision, sources say. If he were to decide in favor of the merger, it would constitute a reversal of his earlier opposition to it. “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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, in December.
He is meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba Friday and is expected to discuss the merger, along with automotive issues and tariffs. In the Oval Office, seated next to the Japanese prime minister, Mr. Trump told reporters he hasn’t changed his mind on the sale.
It’s not immediately known if Nippon has offered further concessions, as it did last month when it proposed giving the U.S. government direct veto authority over any changes to U.S. Steel’s production capacity. The proposal represented a minor change to a recommendation from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a review panel known as CFIUS. That change was intended to allay concerns that Nippon Steel’s proposed purchase of U.S. Steel could lead to a decline in domestic steel output and a reduction in its U.S. workforce.
The proposed change in the so-called mitigation agreement would give all of the decision-making power on changes to production capacity to the U.S. government.
On Monday, Nippon and U.S. Steel submitted a 70-page opening brief in their case against the U.S. alleging that former President Joe Biden blocked the merger for political reasons and violated their due process. The suit has continued during the Trump administration.
The two companies said in a joint statement announcing the lawsuit last month that they had “engaged in good faith with all parties to underscore how the transaction will enhance, not threaten, United States national security.”
A second lawsuit aimed at domestic rival Cleveland-Cliffs’ CEO Lourenco Goncalves and U.S. Steelworkers President David McCall was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, the companies stated.
Biden moved to halt the acquisition after federal regulators deadlocked on whether to approve it, saying that maintaining a strong domestic steel industry was important for U.S. national security.