Final Thoughts

President Trump will be visiting the Pittsburgh area for a rally on Friday. Who knows what he will say? Get your popcorn ready.

Still, this talk of the US government taking a “golden share” is a new wrinkle. If the government owns a stake in U.S. Steel, will it become quite literally “U.S. Steel”? Should Bank of America start to get worried?

Add in the on-again, off-again, saga of Trump’s reciprocal tariffs and the ongoing court battle in the background. It’s a complex time to navigate.

Two emails I received on Wednesday show the ongoing tension with the deal.

One from the United Steelworkers (USW) union said, “At this time, we cannot say whether the ‘planned partnership’ described in Friday’s message on Truth Social or news reports since then represents any meaningful change from the merger proposed in 2023.”

The statement continued: “Our core concerns about Nippon Steel — a foreign-owned corporation with a documented history of violating U.S. trade laws — remain as strong and valid today as ever.”

This was all in a letter to USW members from International President David McCall and District 7 Director and Chairman of the Negotiating Committee Mike Millsap.

Their opposition has remained consistent since the deal was announced in August 2023.

I got a separate statement on Wednesday from Stefani Pashman, CEO of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development (ACCD), which is Pittsburgh’s economic development organization.

“We are incredibly thankful to President Trump for the announcement approving the Nippon Steel–U.S. Steel (USS) deal,” she said. “The decision reflects a clear recognition of the opportunity this significant investment presents—not just for the economic future of the Pittsburgh region, but for the future of American manufacturing and steelmaking.”

Even though the livelihood of workers is integral to both these organizations, opinions still remain split.

Cheat sheet on key dates

If you’re by the water cooler, and want some quick dates at your fingertips, here are some important ones.

August 2023: U.S. Steel rejects Cleveland-Cliffs’ bid for company.

December 2023: Nippon proposes a bid valued at more than $14B for USS, which the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker accepts.

December 2023 – January 2025

Nippon lauds deal, continues to pursue it. Detractors mount, including Cliffs, the USW, and then-President Joe Biden and soon-to-be President Donald Trump.

January 2025: Biden blocks the deal after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review delivers a split decision. USS/Nippon launches lawsuits against the US government, Cliffs, and USW.

May 2025: ‘Partnership’ approved by President Trump, details still need to be determined.

Of course this just scratches the surface of all the twists and turns. And the story ain’t over yet.

What now?

From the sheer amount of time it has dragged on up to the present day, this deal definitely seems like a kind of epochal moment.

How will the US government approach foreign M&A offers in the future, even from allies? How will foreign firms view investment opportunities in steel in the US. especially with President Trump’s push for investment into the country?

In the tumultuous period since tariff talk became the norm, is the U.S. Steel deal merely an anomaly of the time it occurred in? Or, is it a harbinger of the landscape to come?

Whatever the case, we’ve heard chatter the USS CEO David Burritt is now considered a hero. In football terms, he got the deal across the proverbial goal line after what was the M&A equivalent of a 99-yard drive with more than a few third- and even fourth-down conversions.

We don’t anticipate any calls for review. As for tariffs, well, there seem to be a lot more referees in that game. And we don’t know when the reviews will end.

The only question now is whether President Trump will call an audible.