Reports: Trump voices opposition to Nippon purchase of U.S. Steel

By HALEY DAUGHERTY
TribLive

Shares of United Steel Corp. fell Wednesday when President Donald Trump renewed his opposition to the sale of the American steel producer to Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp., according to published reports.

Trump called U.S. Steel a “very special company,” reported Kyodo News. He reportedly told reporters despite his “love” for Japan, he didn’t want the steel company to be owned by a Japanese company.

Reuters reported shares of U.S. Steel fell as much as 14%, to $38.57, in after hours trading before recovering slightly. They remained well below Nippon Steel’s $55 a share offer price.

Outgoing President Joe Biden had blocked the merger in January on national security grounds. That came after a panel, comprised of several federal department heads as well as intelligence and trade officials, failed to reach a consensus in December on whether the takeover by the Japanese steelmaker posed a national security threat.

On Monday, Trump announced he was seeking a review of the nearly $15 billion deal. A memo from the White House gave the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States 45 days to review and determine “whether any measures proposed by the parties are sufficient to mitigate any national security risks.”

Trump’s decision comes after a string of encouraging news for proponents of the deal. While he campaigned throughout last year in opposition to the deal, claiming foreign ownership of U.S. Steel would hurt American manufacturing, Trump somewhat changed course in February. He said he had reached an agreement with Nippon to have it, instead, invest in U.S. Steel. No details have emerged.

Nippon Steel also reportedly upped its pledged investments in U.S. Steel’s unionrun facilities, including the Mon Valley Works, from $2.7 billion to $7 billion.