Trump says Japans Nippon will invest heavily in US Steel but that purchasing it is off the table
WASHINGTON — President Trump said Friday that Japan’s Nippon Steel would be allowed to invest “heavily” in US Steel, but would still not be able to outright purchase it.“They’ve agreed to invest heavily in US Steel, as opposed to own it, and that sounds very exciting,” Trump said a press conference following his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.Both Trump and former President Joe Biden vowed to block the sale of US Steel to Nippon Steel, wanting to keep the company in the US.“US Steel is a very important company to us.
It was the greatest company in the world for 15 years, many years ago, 80 years ago, and we didn’t want to see that leave, and it wouldn’t actually leave, but the concept psychologically not good,” Trump said in the press conference.He did not disclose the details of the investment agreement, but said he would be meeting with the head of Nippon Steel next week to iron out the plan.Biden had officially blocked the proposed $14.9 billion purchase of the company in the final weeks of his presidency, citing national security concerns.The former president said in a statement at the time, “it is my solemn responsibility as president to ensure that, now and long into the future, America has a strong domestically owned and operated steel industry that can continue to power our national sources of strength at home and abroad.”Nippon and US Steel both criticized Biden’s move and sought to reverse the block in court.US Steel had argued that Nippon, the largest steel company in Japan, was needed to increase its production capacity after the company suffered several setbacks.The situation was so dire, the company said, that the purchase falling through could have led the company to put thousands of union workers at risk and potentially close its headquarters in swing-state Pennsylvania.“We want elected leaders and other key decision makers to recognize the benefits of the deal as well as the unavoidable consequen...