Trump announces 'planned partnership' of US Steel, Nippon Steel

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that there will be a "planned partnership" between US Steel and Nippon Steel, with substantial investment from the Japanese manufacturer in the US 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 US 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 US 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 US 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 US ownership.

In February, Trump said Nippon Steel will no longer seek to purchase US Steel and will instead "invest heavily" in the US company. The 14.1-billion-US dollar acquisition of Pittsburgh-headquartered US Steel that Nippon Steel has now dropped is a "concept psychologically not good," Trump said.