Trump appears to approve the Nippon takeover of US Steel — with a healthy dose of spin

US President Trump appears to have green-lighted the Nippon Steel takeover of US Steel.

It’s a deal that he opposed on the campaign trail and was killed by President Biden after the election. However Nippon and US Steel sued to keep the deal alive and more-recently sweetened the pot.

The rejection of the deal was a low point for American capitalism and went against the idea that foreign companies should invest in the United States if they wanted to avoid tariffs.

Trump wrote on Truth Social that was a ‘planned partnership’ and that sparked some confusion but it looks like this is just spin as the $14 billion investment is exactly what Nippon dangled to close the deal.

Shares jumped 23% and are close to the deal price of $55/share. If approved the deal could close as soon as this weekend as both Nippon and US Steel have been ready to close for months.

Trump wrote:

I am proud to announce that, after much consideration and negotiation,
US Steel will REMAIN in America, and keep its Headquarters in the Great
City of Pittsburgh. For many years, the name, “United States Steel” was
synonymous with Greatness, and now, it will be again. This will be a
planned partnership between United States Steel and Nippon Steel, which
will create at least 70,000 jobs, and add $14 Billion Dollars to the
U.S. Economy. The bulk of that Investment will occur in the next 14
months. This is the largest Investment in the History of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. My Tariff Policies will ensure that Steel
will once again be, forever, MADE IN AMERICA. From Pennsylvania to
Arkansas, and from Minnesota to Indiana, AMERICAN MADE is BACK. I will
see you all at US Steel, in Pittsburgh, on Friday, May 30th, for a BIG
Rally. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!

Despite how this whole sad saga unfolded, it ultimately ends up in the good place for the US as Nippon will modernize a portion of the US steel industry and force it into a more-competitive place.

The loser in this is Cleveland-Cliffs who lobbied hard to keep out foreign competition and investment. Shares of CLF are down 5.5%.