WASHINGTON, May 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday that there will be a "planned partnership" between U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel, with substantial investment from the Japanese manufacturer in the U.S. company.
"US Steel will REMAIN in America, and keep its Headquarters in the Great City of Pittsburgh," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
"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," Trump said.
The president also noted that he will attend a big rally at the U.S. Steel headquarters in Pittsburgh on May 30.
Although the term "merger" was not explicitly used, Politico reported that Trump's remarks showed that he had approved a deal for Nippon Steel to buy U.S. Steel, "reversing a position he took during the presidential campaign."
The move also overturns former President Joe Biden's decision to halt the deal shortly before leaving office in January. Both Biden and Trump had previously expressed a desire for the iconic American company to stay under U.S. ownership.
In February, Trump said Nippon Steel will no longer seek to purchase U.S. Steel and will instead "invest heavily" in the U.S. company. The 14.1-billion-U.S. dollar acquisition of Pittsburgh-headquartered U.S. Steel that Nippon Steel has now dropped is a "concept psychologically not good," Trump said.
