In his 1987 book, the first of so many great works of non-fiction, Donald Trump explained what drives him. “I like making deals, preferably big deals,” he wrote. “That’s how I get my kicks.” Fortunately for all Americans, he is still searching for kicks today, decades later. Except this time instead of making deals that would benefit him, he is making deals that can benefit all of us and save a great American company. Not bad!
Trump’s latest great deal involves convincing Nippon Steel to invest in U.S. Steel, a company with a wonderful past but a questionable future until Trump came along. Nippon has wanted to pitch in for some time, but former President Joe Biden seemed to be trying to hand the company over to a competitor named Cleveland-Cliffs instead. Nobody can really understand why Biden acted in the ways he did, but it seems to have something to do with the handful of overpaid union presidents who were telling Biden what to do.
The breaking news is that the Trump administration is trying to cut a deal, while the Biden administration was set on blocking it. Reuters reported on March 17, 2025, “The Trump administration filed a motion to extend two deadlines in U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel's against a U.S. national security panel to give the government more time to wrap up merger talks with the firms, a filing showed on Monday.” The extension is evidence that “U.S. President Donald Trump may allow the deal, scuttled by his predecessor Joe Biden, to proceed in some form.”
The Cleveland-Cliffs deal was never going to work out. That company can barely keep itself afloat, let alone float enough cash to buy U.S. Steel.
Steel workers (not their union representatives, but the actual workers themselves) in Pennsylvania know all of this. They recently wrote a welcome letter to welcome President Trump and gave him their thoughts on having Nippon Steel invest in their company. They said that Cleveland-Cliffs “doesn’t have the money or the know-how to make U.S. Steel great again or to make the investments that Nippon has committed.”
Nippon’s know-how includes breakthrough technologies such as hydrogen injection technology for blast furnaces, high grade steel production in large size electric arc furnaces, and hydrogen use in the direct iron reduction process. It will expand and improve U.S. Steel’s existing plants, and bring needed financial investment to the U.S.
Yes, Nippon is based in Japan. But it is a globally traded company, which means its owners are all over the world, including many Americans. Japan is an aging country, with few profitable places for a company to invest, while the United States is still young, coming into a Golden Age under Trump’s leadership, and remains a great place to invest.
Nippon is committed to both U.S. Steel’s existing business and expanding its footprint and product offerings. It would not attempt to move any production outside the U.S., in fact it will be pouring cash into the factories and possibly hire more workers as production ramps up. Those workers can count on great wages, too.
Nippon Steel will maintain U.S. Steel’s current compensation and benefits programs for its workers, while adding the resources and commitment of a much larger company that wants to grow the right way: by making superior products at an affordable price.
Our growing country needs a growing source of domestic steel, especially for high-grade electrical steel used to manufacture EV motors. Nippon Steel’s investment will allow American workers to manufacture more steel in the United States to meet that growing demand.
We are fortunate to have President Trump working on the deal, in his own unique way.
Nippon Steel “is going to be doing something very exciting about U.S. Steel,” the president said after meeting his Japanese counterpart. “They’ll be looking at an investment.” Expect more announcements soon!
“We are hopeful it gets done,” said Bob Rudnik, a Pennsylvania steelworker who was asked about the Nippon investment. “Nobody else will or has the ability to offer the investments or 10-year guarantee that we were offered with Nippon.”
Oh, it’ll get done, Bob. You can count on that. Donald Trump likes big deals, and this one is sure to get him his kicks.
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