US President elect Donald Trump reiterated on Monday (December 2) his opposition to Nippon Steel's plan to acquire US steel and stated that a series of tax incentives and tariffs after he takes office will make US steel companies strong again.
Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social, 'I completely oppose the acquisition of a once powerful American steel company by a foreign company.' The foreign company in question specifically refers to Nippon Steel Corporation.
Trump wrote, "I will prevent this transaction from happening. Buyers, be careful
Nippon Steel announced in December last year that it would spend $14.9 billion to acquire US Steel Corporation. As usual, this transaction has been reviewed by CFIUS. CFIUS is an interdepartmental government group led by the US Treasury Department, primarily responsible for reviewing whether foreign investment transactions in the United States pose a national security risk.
However, coinciding with this year's US presidential election, the deal once became a bargaining chip for the Democratic and Republican parties to compete for votes, thus facing unanimous opposition from both parties. As early as March this year, US President Biden publicly opposed the acquisition of American steel company by Nippon Steel.
In order to salvage the deal, Nippon Steel has sent executives to the United States multiple times to lobby and promised to invest an additional $2.7 billion after completing the acquisition. In addition, Nippon Steel also promised that if the deal could be approved, it would set up a board of directors for the company with a majority of Americans.
Perhaps considering the impact of this move on the alliance between the United States and Japan, although President Biden openly opposes it, he has not taken any action.
In September, it was reported that CFIUS had approved the application of Nippon Steel. Insiders said that CFIUS needs more time to understand the impact of this transaction on US national security and to engage with all parties involved. It is reported that the deadline for CFIUS review is this month, and CFIUS may approve the transaction, take measures to address national security issues, recommend the president to block the transaction, and possibly extend the review period.
Last month, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba wrote to US President Biden requesting approval for Japan Steel's acquisition of a US steel company. It is understood that Nippon Steel hopes to complete this deal before Trump reopens the White House on January 20th.