On eve of summit with Japan PM, Trump reportedly meets U.S. Steel CEO
U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly met with United States Steel Corp. CEO David Burritt at the White House on Thursday, the eve of his first summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden blocked Nippon Steel Corp.’s planned acquisition of the struggling Pittsburgh-based steelmaker in early January on national security grounds. Trump has also repeatedly voiced strong opposition to the sale of U.S. Steel to Japan’s leading steelmaker.
File photo taken in April 2010 shows the United States Steel logo outside its headquarters building in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (AP/Kyodo)
Reuters and Bloomberg news agencies reported that Trump met with Burritt but provided no further details.
Biden’s blocking of the $14.1 billion deal between the Japanese and U.S. steelmakers prompted them to file lawsuits to overturn his decision.
Trump, who returned to the White House for a nonconsecutive second term on Jan. 20, is due to hold his first in-person talks with Ishiba on Friday, with defense and economic cooperation expected to top the agenda.
Takahiro Mori, Nippon Steel’s vice chairman, said Thursday the planned acquisition was the “best deal” and aligns perfectly with Trump’s call for foreign investment in the United States.
Mori, who played a central role in negotiating the takeover bid, expressed hope at a press conference in Tokyo on Nippon Steel’s earnings that Trump will withdraw his objection to the sale, adding the summit could provide an “opportunity to pave the way” for the acquisition.
Nippon Steel, the world’s fourth-largest producer, and U.S. Steel, the 24th largest, announced the deal in December 2023.
U.S. Steel and its shareholders are supportive of the takeover, which would make it more competitive globally and create the world’s third-largest steelmaker by volume.
During the 2024 presidential election cycle, both Biden and Trump stated that U.S. Steel should remain in domestic hands, in line with the leadership of the powerful United Steelworkers union.
Founded in 1901, U.S. Steel was once a symbol of American economic prowess, but it has struggled to keep up with competition from foreign rivals.
Both the U.S. steelmaker and the powerful union are based in Pennsylvania, which was a key battleground state in the Nov. 5 presidential election.
Under Biden’s presidency, a panel of federal agencies could not reach a consensus on whether to green-light the deal, leaving the final decision to him, with some making the case that the proposed buyout by the major company from Japan, a close U.S. ally, would reinforce rather than undermine national security.
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