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Agence France-Presse

US president-elect Donald Trump says he will “block” a planned takeover of US Steel by Japanese company Nippon Steel, a deal worth US$14.9 billion including debts.
“I am totally against the once great and powerful US Steel being bought by a foreign company, in this case Nippon Steel of Japan,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Monday.
“Through a series of Tax Incentives and Tariffs, we will make US Steel Strong and Great Again, and it will happen FAST! As President, I will block this deal from happening.”
Embattled US Steel has argued that it needs the Nippon deal to ensure sufficient investment in its Mon Valley plants in Pennsylvania, which it says it may have to close if the sale is blocked.

Nippon Steel said after Trump’s comments that it was “determined to protect and grow US Steel in a manner that reinforces American industry, domestic supply chain resiliency, and US national security”.
“We will invest no less than US$2.7 billion into its unionised facilities, introduce our world-class technological innovation, and secure union jobs so that American steelworkers at US Steel can manufacture the most advanced steel products for American customers,” the Japanese firm said in a statement.
Days after the US election last month, Nippon Steel said it expected to close its takeover of the company before the end of the year, while US President Joe Biden was still in office.
Biden, too, has opposed the deal, saying it was “vital” for US Steel “to remain an American steel company that is domestically owned and operated”.
The deal is being reviewed by a body helmed by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that audits foreign takeovers of US firms, called the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
In September, Biden’s administration extended their review, pushing a conclusion on the politically sensitive deal until after the November 5 presidential election.
Nippon, however, was confident it would close the deal by year’s end.
A Nippon Steel earnings presentation on November 7 maintained that “the transaction is expected to close in … calendar year 2024” pending a US national security review.
“Unless the situation changes dramatically, I believe the conclusion will come by the end of the year,” during Biden’s time in office, vice-chairman Takahiro Mori told reporters.

Trump will be inaugurated on January 20.
On the campaign trail, he vowed to install protectionist economic policies to help support US businesses, including threats to restart a trade war with the world’s second largest economy, China.
While running for the White House, he specifically promised to block Nippon’s takeover of US Steel, which is based in the key political battleground state of Pennsylvania.
Trump’s vice presidential pick J.D. Vance also led congressional opposition to the takeover in the US Senate, where the deal has been criticised by both Republicans and Democrats.
Analysts had suggested Trump’s position could soften after the election was over, but Monday’s statement indicated that was not the case.
Major Japanese and American business groups have urged Yellen not to succumb to political pressure when reviewing the proposed acquisition.
The steelworkers union has fought the deal, and criticised a September arbitrators’ ruling that Nippon had proven it could assume US Steel’s labour contract obligations.
In September, however, some US Steel workers rallied in support of the deal, arguing it would help keep plants open.


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Japan

Trump vows to block Japanese takeover of US Steel

US president-elect Donald Trump. On the campaign trail, he vowed to install protectionist economic policies to help support US businesses. Photo: AP

A man walks past an advertisement for Japanese steel producer Nippon Steel in Tokyo. Photo: AFP

US Steel’s Mon Valley plants in Pennsylvania. Nippon Steel’s takeover bid is currently under review. Photo: AP

Japan expands Official Security Assistance scheme, flexes clout in more nations

The Japanese national flag waves at the Bank of Japan building in Tokyo. Photo: Reuters

Philippine military chief Romeo Brawner Jnr shakes hands with his Japanese counterpart Yoshihide Yoshida ahead of meetings in the Philippines in July. Photo: AP

As China looks to rebuild bridges with Japan, will ‘better relations’ last beyond Trump?

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands ahead of their talks in Lima on November 15. Photo: Kyodo

A China Coast Guard vessel sails near a Japan Coast Guard vessel off Uotsuri Island, one of a group of disputed islands called Senkaku Islands in Japan, also known in China as Diaoyu Islands, in the East China Sea. Photo: Kyodo via Reuters

Travellers wait in line to check in for flights to Japan at Beijing Capital International Airport. Chinese President Xi Jinping has expressed a “strong commitment” to advancing people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. Photo: Kyodo

Trump’s back, but China must not go back to tit-for-tat tariffs, noted observer warns

Chinese President Xi Jinping and then US president Donald Trump in Beijing in 2017.  Tariff hikes may be part of Trump’s aims to strike a “grand bargain” with China in his second term. Photo: TNS

Harris, Trump oppose Nippon Steel’s bid for US Steel but could Americans benefit?

Nippon Steel signage at the company’s headquarters in Tokyo. Photo: EPA-EFE

US Steel’s Mon Valley Works Clairton plant in Pennsylvania. Photo: AP

Vice-President Kamala Harris and former US President Donald Trump. Both presidential candidates have opposed the Nippon Steel deal. Photo: TNS

‘Zero ethics’? Japan-US war wounds reopen over POW abuse as Nippon Steel buys American rival

The United States Steel Corp Edgar Thomson Works steel mill in Braddock, Pennsylvania. Photo: Bloomberg

The Nippon Steel Corp Kashima plant seen from a park in Kamisu, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan in December 2023. Nippon Steel will buy US Steel Corp for US$14.1 billion. Photo: Bloomberg

The United States Steel Corp. Edgar Thomson Works steel mill in Braddock, Pennsylvania. Japan’s Nippon Steel is set to acquire the 122-year-old US firm for US$14.9 billion, pending regulatory approvals. Photo: Bloomberg

Japanese soldiers stand guard over American war prisoners just before the start of the Bataan Death March following the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. File photo: US Marine Corps via AP

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US Steel may have to close if the Nippon Steel sale is blocked. Donald Trump says tax incentives and tariffs will make it ‘great again’


US Steel may have to close if the Nippon Steel sale is blocked. Donald Trump says tax incentives and tariffs will make it ‘great again’.


United States

Donald Trump

US Politics

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