Al Root

President Donald Trump is altering a deal between United States Steel and Japan's Nippon Steel.

He said Japan's steel producer would invest in U.S. Steel instead of owning it outright. U.S. Steel stock fell after his comments.

Nippon and U.S. Steel didn't immediately return a request for comment.

For months, politicians on both sides of the aisle -- including Trump -- have said U.S. ownership of U.S. Steel was an issue of national security. Lawmakers' opposition arose despite Nippon's plans to invest billions of dollars in the U.S. company -- and its concession that Americans would continue to operate the U.S.-based mills.

President Joe Biden blocked the deal in January, before Trump's inauguration. U.S. Steel is suing to overturn the decision.

Nippon is the world's fourth-largest steel maker, while U.S. Steel ranks in the mid-20s.

U.S. Steel stock jumped about $5 in midday trading Friday after reports that Trump would approve the deal. Shares swung to a loss of about $3 each after his comments. That left the stock down about 4.8% at $37.36, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were down about 0.9%.

Nippon's all-cash offer values U.S. Steel at $55 a share.

Cleveland-Cliffs stock dropped 4.4% in afternoon trading. Cleveland-Cliffs had interest in U.S. Steel assets. It's $35 cash and stock bid in August 2023 kicked off a bidding war for the company. Without a merger, and with investment from Nippon, Cleveland-Cliffs is in a relatively weaker competitive position.

Cleveland-Cliffs didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

This is breaking news. Check back for updates.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com

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February 07, 2025 14:48 ET (19:48 GMT)

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