President Trump said on Wednesday that he didn’t want US Steel to go to Japan, suggesting that he does not support the Nippon Steel offer for American Steel producer.
The commentary seemed to contradict the recent actions of the Trump administration.
Trump on Monday, Trump ordered a national security committee to take a new look at the offer of 14 billion dollars in Japanese Steel for Us Steel to determine if “additional action” is appropriate, which makes hope that the agreement could gain an elusive green light.
After Trump’s latest comment, US Steel’s shares fell 13% in exchanges after working hours on Wednesday.
“We don’t want to see him go to Japan,” said Trump, adding “we love Japan.”
“We don’t want him to go to Japan or any other place, and we work with them,” said Trump.
Us Steel and Nippon Steel did not immediately respond to requests for comments.
Outgoing President Joe Biden had blocked the merger in January for national security reasons.
After Biden’s decision, the two companies continued the United States’s foreign investment committee, which examines foreign investments for national security risks, alleging that Biden had detrimental to the committee’s decision and violated companies with a fair examination.
The agreement was announced in December 2023 and was almost immediately adopted by the opposition through the political spectrum before the presidential election of November 5. The two candidates of then Trump and Biden promised to block the purchase of the American company.
The companies had argued that Biden opposed the agreement when he presented himself to a re -election to win the support of the United Steelworkers Union in the state of Pennsylvania Battleground, where Us Steel has its headquarters. The Biden administration had defended the examination as essential to protect security, infrastructure and supply chains.
Last month, the Trump administration filed a request to extend two deadlines within the trial to give the government more time to conclude talks to merger with companies.
Late Monday, the Trump administration and the companies asked the Court of Appeal to suspend their dispute until June 5 while CFIUS again examines the link, noting that the process has the potential to “fully resolve” companies.
