On Friday, President Donald Trump announced that Nippon Steel might not buy U.S. Steel as planned, but instead, the Japanese company could invest in it. During a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Trump mistakenly called Nippon Steel “Nissan,” which is actually a car company.
This news is important because both Trump and former President Joe Biden want to stop the merger between Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel. Trump shared that Nippon Steel has exciting plans for U.S. Steel and will look into investing in it instead of buying it. The exact details of this investment aren’t clear yet, but Trump mentioned he will meet with Nippon Steel’s leader soon to help mediate the situation.
Prime Minister Ishiba said that this investment would be good for both Japan and the U.S. He added that Japanese technology would be shared with U.S. Steel mills. Back in December 2023, Nippon Steel offered around $15 billion to buy U.S. Steel, which became a hot topic in the 2024 presidential election, especially since U.S. Steel is a big deal in Pennsylvania.
Biden and the United Steelworkers union wanted to block this merger. In December, a U.S. government group, known as CFIUS, looked at the possible national security risks related to this deal but couldn’t agree on it. The Biden administration then gave Nippon Steel more time to pull out of the deal, leaving Trump to decide what to do next.
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