HOW TRUMP COULD MOVE ON NIPPON: Supporters of the sale of U.S. Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel are still hopeful that Donald Trump could revive the nearly $15 billion dollar acquisition, which President Joe Biden blocked on national security grounds last Friday.
Trump on Monday reiterated his opposition to the deal, at least for now, in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. “Why would they want to sell U.S. Steel now when Tariffs will make it a much more profitable and valuable company? Wouldn’t it be nice to have U.S. Steel, once the greatest company in the World, lead the charge toward greatness again? It can all happen very quickly!”
But several analysts and former Trump officials remain optimistic that the president-elect’s promise to widen foreign direct investment into the United States and his somewhat warm history with Japan from his first term might outweigh the “America First” stance that animated his past comments — especially once the proposed acquisition is no longer in Biden’s hands, and Trump can renegotiate the deal on his own terms. Steve Moore, who served as a senior economic adviser to Trump in the first administration, told Morning Trade that the president-elect “is renowned for being a deal maker” and that members of Trump’s inner-circle strongly support the deal on economic grounds. “A negotiated settlement could very easily be in the cards,” Moore said. "When [Trump] becomes president, he can negotiate a deal that would be 'better' for American workers, and with more safeguards to the livelihoods of these workers." “This is the ‘art of the deal president’ and Nippon Steel has clearly been showing that they're willing to deal,” said Paul Sracic, a professor at Youngstown State University, and an adjunct scholar at the conservative Hudson Institute. “You also have the fact that Donald Trump seems to like Japan. He had a close relationship with [former Japanese Prime Minister] Shinzo Abe.” Backing up: Biden’s decision Friday to kill the purchase of Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel by a Japan-based manufacturer won immediate praise from his labor allies — and condemnation from both companies and several Republicans. Nippon and U.S. Steel issued a joint statement, saying Biden’s decision was the result of a process “deeply corrupted by politics.” They threatened legal action to revive the deal. The move also triggered backlash from conservatives in Congress, granting Trump some fresh political cover if he ultimately decides to backtrack on his stance against the deal. “Blocking the sale of a struggling company to a stronger company simply steals value from what’s left of U.S. Steel and hurts its remaining workers by blocking the billion dollar infusion of cash Nippon Steel promises,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) wrote on X on Friday. Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.) went even further, calling Biden’s “politically motivated decision … a significant blow to Pennsylvania and the American steel industry.” “This shortsighted move risks thousands of current good-paying union jobs, halts critical investments in modernizing steel plants, and undermines a plan to create nearly 6,000 new jobs over the next several years,” Meuser said. | 
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