Steel Mills

Trump still against selling USS to Japanese firm: Report

April 10, 2025

Despite ordering a new review of Nippon Steel’s bid for U.S. Steel, President Trump said he is still against selling the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker to a Japanese company, according to media reports.

“We love Japan, but U.S. Steel is a very special company,” Trump said while speaking to journalists, according to a report in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Thursday. “We don’t want it to go to Japan or any other place.”

Trump on Monday had ordered the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to conduct a new review of the deal, to be completed within 45 days.

On Wednesday, investment firm Ancora Holdings Group gave up on its attempt to take over leadership of USS’ board, citing the Nippon/USS deal “gaining momentum.”

Note that CFIUS gave a split decision to the deal in December. After this, President Biden blocked the deal. But the Biden administration subsequently moved back the date to unwind the deal until June.

The Post-Gazette report said the members of the new CFIUS review team will all be from the Trump administration.

The president has long been vocal about his opposition of selling USS to a Japanese firm. However, in February he said he was open to Nippon investing heavily in U.S. Steel rather than owning it.

In a statement to SMU regarding the matter, USS said: “U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel are continuing to work closely with President Trump’s administration to secure a significant investment that will preserve existing jobs, create new jobs, enhance national security, and secure a bright future for U.S. Steel and American steel manufacturing.”

Ethan Bernard

Ethan Bernard is managing editor for Steel Market Update. He previously worked for American Metal Market as a copy editor in the New York office for two years, starting in 2008. Later, he copy edited AMM’s monthly magazine on a freelance basis from 2015 until 2017. With experience in financial copywriting and textbook publishing, he holds a BA in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, and an MFA. in Creative Writing from New York University. He can be reached at ethan@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7871.