President Donald Trump on Friday said Japan’s Nippon Steel agreed to drop its nearly $15 billion bid to acquire U.S. Steel and will “heavily” invest in the company instead, ending a yearlong deal to merge the two companies after bipartisan opposition.
President Joe Biden previously blocked the deal, prompting a lawsuit from both companies.
Trump, who spoke at a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, said Nippon has agreed to “invest heavily in U.S. Steel as opposed to own it.”
Details of the investment are not immediately clear, though Trump said he would meet with Nippon executives next week to “mediate and arbitrate.”
Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward applauded the deal and said state legislators are awaiting details of Nippon’s investment, which Ward noted would be a “positive development” and “good news” for steelworkers in southwestern Pennsylvania, where U.S. Steel is headquartered.
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“[Nippon will] be looking at an investment rather than a purchase,” Trump said, adding U.S. Steel is a “very important company” for the U.S.: “We didn’t want to see that leave.”
Nippon announced a $14.9 billion deal to buy U.S. Steel in December 2023, suggesting the newly formed company would maintain its original name and Pittsburgh headquarters. The deal quickly drew opposition from top Republicans and Democrats, including then-President Joe Biden, who said it was “important” that U.S. Steel—founded in 1901 by industrialists Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan and Charles Schwab—remain a U.S.-based company. U.S. Steel, however, warned the company would be forced to move its company headquarters away from Pittsburgh and “thousands” of union jobs would be at risk without the Nippon takeover. Trump vowed to end the deal during his latest presidential campaign, suggesting in December 2024 he would rely on “tax incentives” and tariffs to bolster U.S. Steel’s finances. Biden blocked the merger in January, saying U.S. Steel would “remain a proud American company.” Nippon and U.S. Steel subsequently sued the Biden administration to challenge his decision, alleging Biden had violated their “constitutional due process and statutory rights.”