By Alexandra Alper and Jeff Mason
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump heads to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Friday to headline a rally to celebrate Nippon Steel’s “planned partnership” with U.S. Steel, signaling final approval for the deal could be on the horizon.
Proponents of the transaction are hoping his visit to the state where U.S. Steel is headquartered will cap a tumultuous 18-month effort by Nippon Steel to buy the iconic American company, beset by union opposition and two national security reviews.
But the deal is possibly not entirely done. Following Trump’s post on Truth Social last Friday announcing the rally and appearing to endorse the merger, he sowed doubt on Sunday, describing the deal to reporters as an investment with “partial ownership,” with control residing with the U.S.
Trump will deliver remarks at a U.S. Steel plant at 5 p.m. ET (2100 GMT) on Friday in the political swing state, which he won in the 2024 election. The White House described his remarks as being about the “U.S. Steel Deal.”
Trump technically has until next Thursday to decide whether to approve or scuttle the deal, after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. last week completed a second review of the merger. But the timeline could slip.
The road to Friday’s rally has been a bumpy one.
Nippon Steel offered $14.9 billion for U.S. Steel in December 2023, seeking to capitalize on an expected ramp up in steel purchases, thanks to the bipartisan infrastructure law.
But the tie-up faced headwinds from the start, with both then-President Joe Biden and Trump asserting U.S. Steel should remain American-owned as they sought to woo voters in Pennsylvania ahead of the November presidential elections. Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who became the Democratic nominee in 2024 after Biden stepped aside, also said U.S. Steel should remain domestically owned.
Following a previous CFIUS-led review, Biden blocked the deal in January on national security grounds.
The companies sued, arguing they did not receive a fair review process, a charge the Biden White House disputed.
The steel giants saw a new opportunity in the Trump administration, which opened a fresh 45-day national security review into the proposed merger last month.
But Trump’s public comments, ranging from welcoming a simple “investment” in U.S. Steel by the Japanese firm to suggesting a minority stake for Nippon Steel, did little to shore up investor confidence in an eventual green light.
Reuters reported last week that Nippon Steel had floated plans to invest $14 billion in U.S. Steel’s operations including up to $4 billion in a new steel mill if the Trump administration green lights its merger bid, in response to requests from the government for more investment.
“This will be a planned partnership between United States Steel and Nippon Steel, which will create at least 70,000 jobs, and add $14 Billion Dollars to the U.S. Economy,” Trump posted last Friday, breathing new hope into prospects for the tie-up. “I will see you all at US Steel, in Pittsburgh, on Friday, May 30th, for a BIG Rally. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!”
(Reporting by Alexandra Alper and Jeff Mason; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
