Trump backs Nippon Steel’s tie up with US Steel to enter into ‘partnership’

Shares of US Steel jumped 21 per cent as investors interpreted the US president’s post to signal that Nippon Steel had received his approval for its long-planned takeover, the last major hurdle for the deal.

“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 U.S. Economy. The bulk of that Investment will occur in the next 14 months,” Trump added.

Trump also said he will visit the steel plant next Friday for a “BIG rally.”

Former president Joe Biden blocked the $14.3 billion acquisition during his final week in office. The deal has been controversial since it was first announced in December 2023, with bipartisan opposition to foreign control of a company once seen as a cornerstone of American industrial power.

Trump had earlier expressed similar reservations: “I don’t want US Steel being owned by a foreign country. All they can have is an investment,” he said.

But in March, the Trump administration signalled it may allow the deal to proceed after it filed a motion to extend two deadlines in a lawsuit US Steel and Nippon Steel filed against the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which reviews foreign deals for national security concerns.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro also applauded the partnership, saying that he directly discussed it with Trump in the last few days.

“Throughout the entire process, I have maintained that my priority was to keep and grow jobs here in Pennsylvania and get the largest investment we possibly could for our Commonwealth,” he said in a statement Friday.