CNN
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Nippon Steel has finalized its deal to buy 100% of US Steel, the iconic steelmaker that was once the world’s most valuable company and a cornerstone of American industrial might.
The purchase comes despite President Donald Trump repeatedly saying that he would allow the deal to go forward only because it was an “investment,” not an outright purchase of the company. But while Nippon is buying the entirety of US Steel, under the final deal the president will be able to veto any decision to idle plants, reduce production or staffing levels.
The deal was previously blocked by President Joe Biden in his final weeks in office, citing national security grounds, and it was opposed by Trump when he was on the campaign trail. But once Trump took office, he said Nippon improved the deal and promised additional investment totaling $11 billion in the company’s facilities.
Last month Trump announced he would allow the deal, as long as the company’s American operations retained the name “US Steel,” its local headquarters remained in Pittsburgh and he as president was granted a veto to stop staffing cuts or outsourcing. But he continued to insist that it was only a “partnership or “investment” by Nippon Steel, not a complete purchase.
“It’s an investment, and it’ll be a partial ownership (by Nippon),” Trump said last month, days after announcing he would approve the deal. “It will be controlled by the United States, otherwise I wouldn’t make the deal.”
At a rally at US Steel facility outside of Pittsburgh a week after saying he would allow the deal, Trump told a crowd of cheering steelworkers that it would be a good one for them.
“They kept asking me over and over, and I kept rejecting it, no way, no way, no way,” he said. “The deal got better and better and better for the workers,” Trump said. “I’m going to be watching over it. It’s going to be great.”
This is a developing story. It will be updated.
