Steelworkers begged him not to—but Trump still greenlit a $15B Foreign buyout that could wipe out their jobs
President Donald Trump on Friday appeared to give his blessing to Japanese conglomerate Nippon’s acquisition of U.S. Steel, a surprising shift from his previous opposition on the campaign trail. This endorsement came just one day after the United Steelworkers union pleaded with Trump to uphold his promise to reject the foreign takeover.
In a post shared on his own social media platform, Trump referenced a “planned partnership” between U.S. Steel and Nippon. The wording left many puzzled over the actual terms, but the market reacted instantly—U.S. Steel shares surged more than 20%, and both companies issued statements applauding the president’s remarks and voicing support for the deal.
Trump emphasized that U.S. Steel “will REMAIN in America” and retain its headquarters in Pittsburgh.
One insider close to the merger discussions told the Financial Times that Trump’s statement was seen as “tacit approval” of the $15 billion buyout, first proposed in late 2023. While President Biden’s administration previously blocked the transaction, and Trump had railed against it during the 2024 campaign, the sudden shift marks a potential turning point in the deal’s fate.
Former Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) slammed Trump’s pivot, calling it “a betrayal of American workers.”
United Steelworkers president David McCall responded cautiously to the announcement, saying the union “cannot speculate” on the full details of the deal. Still, he warned that “Nippon, a foreign corporation with a long and proven track record of violating our trade laws, will further erode domestic steelmaking capacity and jeopardize thousands of good, union jobs.”
Just last month, Trump ordered the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) to examine potential national security threats related to the deal. According to Reuters, the committee completed its review this week and was “divided in its recommendation,” though “most panel members believe any security risks posed by the deal can be addressed.”
McCall responded to the review on Thursday with a sharply worded rebuke, warning that “allowing the sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon, a serial trade cheater, will be a disaster for American Steelworkers, our national security, and the future of American manufacturing.”
“It is simply absurd to think that we could ever entrust the future of one of our most vital industries—essential to both national defense and critical infrastructure—to a company whose unfair trade practices continue to this day,” McCall continued. “For decades, Nippon has been dumping its products into our markets, costing us thousands of good, community-supporting jobs and undermining our steelmaking capabilities.”
“Now, as it continues to make flashy promises about proposed investments, it remains clear Nippon is simply seeking to undercut our domestic industry from the inside,” he said. “President Trump has publicly pledged to block this sale since January 2024. We now urge him to act decisively, shutting the door once and for all on this corporate sellout of American Steelworkers and defending U.S. manufacturing.”
Sources:
- reuters.com/markets/deals/trump-signals-support-nippon-us-steel-deal-2025-05-24/
- pbs.org/newshour/economy/trump-reverses-course-on-nippon-us-steel-deal
- ft.com/content/ussteel-nippon-merger-trump-approval
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