The President Donald Trump will attend a rally in Pittsburgh on Friday to promote what he has called a “planned partnership” between Japan’s Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel, a move which is seen as an indication that the controversial deal will be approved soon.
The event comes as the stakeholders in the $14.9 billion deal seek to get the final approval from the President. The proposed merger has been under scrutiny for 18 months with the unions opposing it and the deal undergoing two national security reviews. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has now completed its second review and Trump has until next Thursday to make a decision on the fate of the deal.
Trump’s language has been different in the recent days. He initially said that U.S. Steel will remain fully owned by Americans but later described the deal as “partial ownership” with U.S. Steel having the control. The White House has been cautious in its language about the deal being a partnership rather than a sale, given the political implications in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state that Trump won in 2024.
Nippon Steel’s bid for U.S. Steel is part of its global expansion plans as it seeks to capitalize on the increased demand from the bipartisan infrastructure law. For U.S. Steel, the partnership could provide much-needed capital and operational support as it faces intense global competition.
However, the deal has become a political issue. Both Trump and former President Joe Biden have in the past argued that the American steelmaker should remain domestically owned, echoing the concerns of the unions. Democratic nominee Kamala Harris has also expressed doubts about foreign ownership.
