Companies say Biden order was politically motivated, though Trump also was ‘totally against’ the deal.

President Trump has directed his foreign investment agency to conduct a fresh national security review of Nippon Steel’s proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel, the Wall Street Journal has reported.

The proposed $14 billion transaction was blocked by the Biden administration and opposed by the United Steelworkers Union. In January 2025, the companies sued to overturn the order in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., saying Biden used national security concerns as a ploy to get union support during the 2024 election.

Asking for a second look, President Trump appears to have had a change of heart in the last four months. In a Dec. 2, 2024, Truth Social post, the then-President-elect voiced his opposition to the sale, saying he would use tariffs and tax incentives to revive the American steelmaker. “I am totally against the once great and powerful U.S. Steel being bought by a foreign company, in this case Nippon Steel of Japan,” he wrote. “Through a series of Tax Incentives and Tariffs, we will make U.S. Steel Strong and Great Again, and it will happen FAST! As President, I will block this deal from happening. Buyer Beware!!!”

According to the Wall Street Journal’s April 7 article, the Trump administration directed the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) to re-examine potential ramifications of the deal, though nothing formal has been shared publicly.

Nippon Steel welcomed “an objective, fact-based review” of the merger which it says will strengthen America’s economy and national security. U.S. Steel will remain “a proud American company,” says the Japanese bidder. U.S. Steel has called Biden’s order “unlawful.” Nippon Steel says it will invest heavily in the Pittsburgh-based company and reward employees with bonuses. The United Steelworkers Union opposes the deal, saying it would not help the company or most of the company’s 21,000 employees.

The two companies are motivated to make this merger a reality. U.S. Steel would benefit from the investment, and Nippon would be in a better position to compete with China, the world’s runaway leader in steel production. China state-owned steelmaker, Baowu Group, was the world’s largest crude steel producer in 2022, manufacturing 132 million metric tons of crude steel. The world’s third largest producer, China state-owned Ansteel Group, produced nearly 56 million tons in 2022. That’s a combined 188 million tons, compared to Nippon’s 44 million, U.S. Steel’s 14.5 million tons, and total American steel production of 80 million tons per year. Nucor Corp. is the largest U.S. steelmaker, with 18.5 million tons of raw steel coming out of its plants annually.