Trump approves US Steel-Nippon partnership
NEW YORK: President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday approving a partnership between US Steel and Nippon Steel after the companies reached agreement on US national security guarantees.
The deal brings an end to the long-running saga over foreign ownership of a key national asset which began in December 2023, when US Steel and Nippon Steel announced plans for a US$14.9 billion merger.
Nippon's acquisition of US Steel was held up by former president Joe Biden, who blocked it in his last weeks in the White House on national security grounds.
Trump initially opposed Nippon Steel's takeover plan, calling for US Steel to remain domestically owned, but he threw his support behind a "partnership" in May.
"US Steel will REMAIN in America, and keep its Headquarters in the Great City of Pittsburgh," the US president said in a Truth Social post.
In a joint statement, US Steel and Nippon Steel said Trump "has approved the Companies' historic partnership that will unleash unprecedented investments in steelmaking in the United States, protecting and creating more than 100,000 jobs."
"In addition to President Trump's Executive Order approving the partnership, the Companies have entered into a National Security Agreement (NSA) with the US Government," they said, which calls for approximately US$11 billion in new investments to be made by 2028.
Trump's executive order did not provide details about the NSA but he reserved the authority to issue further orders "as shall in my judgment be necessary to protect the national security of the United States."
Friday's announcement follows a review of the deal by the government's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which is tasked with analysing the national security implications of foreign takeovers of US companies. - AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
40 minutes ago
- The Star
Trump says car trade with 'Mr Japan' is unfair as deadline looms
FILE PHOTO: A Toyota Tacoma is seen during the New York International Auto Show, in Manhattan, New York City, US, April 5, 2023. - Reuters WASHINGTON DC: US President Donald Trump characterised trade in cars between the US and Japan as unfair on Sunday (June 29), little more than a week before higher tariffs are set to kick in if a deal isn't reached between the two nations. "So we give Japan no cars. They won't take our cars, right? And yet we take millions and millions of their cars into the United States. It's not fair,' Trump said during a Fox News interview that aired Sunday. "And I explained that to Japan. And they understand it. And we have a big deficit with Japan. And they understand that too,' he said in remarks. "Now, we have oil. They could take a lot of oil. They could take a lot of other things,' he added. Japan's top negotiator Ryosei Akazawa visited Washington DC last week for the seventh round of trade negotiations that have been ongoing for months, even extending his stay in hopes of hashing out a deal as the July 9 deadline for higher so-called reciprocal tariffs looms. In a statement released by the Japanese government Sunday, Akazawa and his counterpart, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had a "fruitful discussion' and agreed to continue seeking a deal that is beneficial for both the US and Japan. It was unclear from Trump's statements in the interview whether Japan was close to reaching a deal or winning an extended reprieve from a jump in the across-the-board tariffs. Trump said the US can set its trade terms with Japan unilaterally. "I'm going to send letters,' Trump said on Sunday, referring to a plan to inform some trading partners that the US will unilaterally set tariffs. "I could send one to Japan. 'Dear Mr. Japan, here's the story. You're going to pay a 25 per cent tariff on your cars.'' - Bloomberg
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Musk fumes as Trump tax bill cuts electric vehicle credits
The Senate tax bill would bring a quicker end to a popular US$7,500 (RM31,627) consumer tax credit for electric vehicles. — AP Elon Musk slammed the US Senate's latest version of President Donald Trump's multi-trillion dollar tax bill last Saturday, warning that the cuts to electric vehicle and other clean energy credits would be "incredibly destructive' to the country. Musk, the chief executive officer of Tesla Inc and SpaceX, posted on his social media platform X about the bill, which the Senate advanced in a contentious vote late Saturday. Musk recently left Trump's side after working for several months as the head of Trump's so-called Department of Government Efficiency. The bill would destroy millions of US jobs and give "handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future,' Musk said. The tech billionaire's latest criticism of the package threatens to reawaken his public rift with Trump that began after the world's richest man left his cost-cutting job in the administration. Trump was asked about Musk in an interview that was recorded on Friday before the billionaire's most recent posts. "I haven't spoken to him much, but I think Elon is a wonderful guy, and I know he's going to do well always,' Trump said on Fox News's Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo, which aired Sunday. "But he got a little bit upset, and you know that wasn't appropriate.' The Senate tax bill would bring a quicker end to a popular US$7,500 (RM 31,627) consumer tax credit for electric vehicles. While the earlier proposal would have ended the incentive at the end of this year for most EV sales, the new version terminates the credit after Sept 30. Tax credits for the purchase of used and commercial electric vehicles would end at the same time. – Bloomberg
Malay Mail
2 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Canada scraps digital tax on US tech giants to revive Trump trade talks
OTTAWA, June 30 — Canada will rescind taxes impacting US tech firms that had prompted President Donald Trump to retaliate by calling off trade talks, Ottawa said Sunday, adding that negotiations with Washington would resume. The digital services tax, enacted last year, would have seen US service providers such as Alphabet and Amazon on the hook for a multi-billion-dollar payment in Canada by Monday, analysts have said. Washington has previously requested dispute settlement talks over the tax — but on Friday Trump, who has weaponised US financial power in the form of tariffs, said he was ending trade talks with Ottawa in retaliation for the levy. He also warned that Canada would learn its new tariff rate within the week. But on Sunday, Ottawa binned the tax, which had been forecast to bring in Can$5.9 billion (RM18.2 billion) over five years. Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne 'announced today that Canada would rescind the Digital Services Tax (DST) in anticipation of a mutually beneficial comprehensive trade arrangement with the United States,' a government statement said. It added that Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney 'have agreed that parties will resume negotiations with a view towards agreeing on a deal by July 21, 2025.' There was no immediate comment from the White House or Trump. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Friday that Washington had hoped Carney's government would halt the tax 'as a sign of goodwill.' Canada has been spared some of the sweeping duties Trump has imposed on other countries, but it faces a separate tariff regime. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has also imposed steep levies on imports of steel, aluminum and autos. Canada is the largest supplier of foreign steel and aluminum to the United States. Last week, Carney said Ottawa will adjust its 25 percent counter tariffs on US steel and aluminum — in response to a doubling of US levies on the metals to 50 per cent — if a bilateral trade deal was not reached in 30 days. 'We will continue to conduct these complex negotiations in the best interest of Canadians,' Carney said Friday. He had previously said a good outcome in the talks would be to 'stabilize the trading relationship with the United States' and 'ready access to US markets for Canadian companies' while 'not having our hands tied in terms of our dealings with the rest of the world.' Carney and Trump met on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Canada earlier this month. Leaders at the summit pushed Trump to back away from his punishing trade war. Dozens of countries face a July 9 deadline for steeper US duties to kick in — rising from a current 10 per cent. It remains to be seen if they will successfully reach agreements before the deadline. Bessent has said Washington could wrap up its agenda for trade deals by September, indicating more agreements could be concluded, although talks were likely to extend past July. — AFP
