By Michelle L. Price and Mark Levy
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — President Donald Trump will hold a rally in Pennsylvania on Friday to celebrate a detailed deal by Japan-based Nippon Steel to invest in US steel.
Trump initially vowed to block bids from Japanese steelmakers to buy Pittsburgh-based US steel, but he changed course and announced an agreement last week that he described as “partial ownership” by Japan. However, it is not clear whether the transaction that his administration supported the broker has been completed or how ownership will be structured.
Trump stressed that the deal will preserve America’s control of a renowned company, which is seen as both a political symbol and a critical issue for the country’s supply chain, industries such as automobile manufacturing and national security.
Trump, who has been hoping to attack deals and announce new investments in the US since the White House was taken away, is also trying to satisfy voters, including the blue-collar workers who selected him when he called to protect US manufacturing.
US Steel has not publicly communicated details of the improved deal to investors. Nippon Steel has issued a statement approving the proposed “partnership” but has not even revealed the terms of the arrangement.
State and federal lawmakers who have been briefed on the issue describe the deal that Japan will buy US steel and spend billions of dollars on US steel facilities in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Alabama, Arkansas and Minnesota. The company is supervised by an executive suite and board of directors, composed primarily of Americans and protected by US government veto in the form of “golden share.”
Without clear details or affirmations from the companies involved, the United Steelworkers Union, which has long opposed the deal, questioned this week whether the new arrangement would result in a “meaningful change” from the original proposal.
“Nippon has consistently maintained that it invests in US steel facilities only if it owned the company entirely,” the union said in a statement. “Reports over the past few days suggest that Japan has returned from this position.”
The White House did not provide new details Thursday. US Steel did not respond to messages seeking information. Nippon Steel also declined to comment.
Regardless of the conditions, this issue is of importance to Trump. Trump has repeatedly said last year, similar to former President Joe Biden, that he would block US steel deals and foreign ownership.
During the campaign, Trump promised to make the revitalization of American manufacturing a priority for his second term. And the fate of US steel, once the world’s largest company, could be politically responsible for Republican midterm elections in the swing states of Pennsylvania and other battlefield nations that rely on industrial manufacturing.
Trump said on Sunday that he would not approve the deal if US steel was not left under US control and would maintain its headquarters in Pittsburgh.
In an interview with the Fox News Channel on Wednesday, Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Dan Maser called “Strictly An Investment, the American run, the strategic partnership that remains in America.”
However, Meuser said he hadn’t seen the deal, adding that it was “still structured.”
Pennsylvania Republican Sen. David McCormick agreed with the plan and called it “great” for employees of the domestic steel industry, Pennsylvania, national security and US steel. A bipartisan group of senators joined by then-religious candidate McCormick, opposed the first proposed purchase of US steel for $14.9 billion since its announcement in late 2023.
Recently, Trump and other American officials have begun to promote Nippon Steel’s new commitment to invest $14.9 billion plus $14.9 billion in addition to $14.9 billion in bids, including the construction of a new electric arc furnace steel factory somewhere in the US
Democrat John Fetterman, another Senator in Pennsylvania, lives across the street from the US Edgar Thomson Steelworks furnace, but did not explicitly support the new proposal. However, he said he helped pack Nippon Steel’s original bids up until “Japan spits out an extra $14 billion.”
The US planned “golden share” corresponds to three board members approved by the US government. This essentially ensures that US steel can only make decisions that are in the best interest of the US, McCormick said Tuesday in FOX News.
Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat who is considered a potential presidential candidate, has largely refrained from approving the contract, but at a press conference this week he said he was “cautiously optimistic” about the arrangement.
In an interview presented Thursday with a conservative Washington examiner, Shapiro said:
Chris Kelly, mayor of West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, admits that the U.S. Irvin finishing plant is located and some details are unknown, but he said he “emailed” the deal. He said it would save thousands of jobs for his community.
“It’s like a reprieve from removing steel from Pittsburgh,” he said.
Price reported from Washington. Tokyo AP author Yuri Kageyama contributed to this report.
Original issue: May 30th, 2025, 12:21pm EDT
