Steel Mills

BREAKING NEWS: Trump approves Nippon-U.S. Steel deal

Written by Michael Cowden

June 13, 2025

President Trump has approved the sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel, according to an executive order signed on Friday, June 13.

Both the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker and the Japanese steelmaker cheered the development.

“This partnership will bring a massive investment that will support our communities and families for generations to come,” they said in a joint statement. “We look forward to putting our commitments into action to make American steelmaking great again.”

The deal hinges on U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel pledging to enter a national security agreement (NSA) with the US government, according to the executive order.

The NSA stipulates that the companies must make approximately $11 billion in new investments by 2028, Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel said. Some of that money will be earmarked for a “greenfield project that would be completed after 2028,” they added.

The companies did not specify what that greenfield project might be. But there have been reports that Nippon Steel could invest as much as $4 billion to build a new mill in the US.

The deal also features a “golden share” that gives the US government a 51% stake in U.S. Steel.

The companies said they had received all necessary regulatory approvals and that their deal would be “finalized promptly.”

Shares of U.S. Steel rose in after-hours trading on Friday on the news.

Michael Cowden

Michael Cowden is editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. Cowden has covered the steel industry since 2007. He specializes in flat-rolled steel but has also reported on steel long products, steel pipe and tube, and aluminum. Before joining SMU, Cowden held reporting jobs at Fastmarkets AMM in Chicago, the Associated Press in Pittsburgh, and the Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh. He has also worked as a copy editor and in marketing at the University of Chicago Press. Cowden has a BA in English from the University of Chicago and an MSJ journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Contact him at michael@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7872.

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