Japan’s Nippon Steel is considering investing in U.S. Steel rather than owning the company, President Donald Trump said on Feb. 7.
“They’ve agreed to invest heavily in U.S. Steel, as opposed to own it, and that sounds very exciting,” Trump told reporters at a press conference alongside Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Washington.
“I didn’t want it purchased. They’re going to do a big investment subject to getting the deal done.”
The Japanese prime minister also declared plans to bolster his country’s investments in the United States to $1 trillion.
“With the inauguration of President Trump, the momentum for Japanese companies to invest in the United States is even stronger,” Ishiba said.
Nippon, Japan’s largest steelmaker, proposed a $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel in December 2023. The deal would create a two-pronged effect: expand Nippon’s global operations and inject necessary investment in U.S. Steel’s domestic steel business.
The announcement triggered bipartisan political opposition.
A trio of Republican lawmakers—Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Vice President JD Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio—urged the Treasury Department to nix the Nippon–U.S. Steel deal, citing national security concerns.
“Despite the absence of any security-focused deliberation on U.S. Steel’s part, domestic steel production is vital to U.S. national security,” they said in a letter to the Treasury.
A coalition of pro-union lawmakers also requested President Joe Biden to block the takeover.
In the closing days of his administration, Biden blocked the merger.
“As I have said many times, steel production—and the steel workers who produce it—are the backbone of our nation,” Biden said in a Jan. 4 statement. “A strong domestically owned and operated steel industry represents an essential national security priority and is critical for resilient supply chains.”
Nippon and U.S. Steel confirmed they would challenge the federal decision in court.
“The president’s statement and order do not present any credible evidence of a national security issue, making clear that this was a political decision,” the companies said in a joint statement. “We are left with no choice but to take all appropriate action to protect our legal rights.”
The U.S. and Japanese companies filed a brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, stating that Biden “made a predetermined decision for political reasons, not national security.”
This, they said, caused the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to participate in a “sham review” of the potential merger.
Ohio-based steelmaker Cleveland Cliffs announced last month that it would potentially submit a new bid for the Pittsburgh steelmaker.
