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Donald Trump has announced that Japan’s Nippon Steel will form a “partnership” with US Steel, marking a significant development in a long-running and politically fraught saga.
“This will be a planned partnership between United States Steel and Nippon Steel, which will create at least 70,000 jobs, and add $14 Billion Dollars to the US Economy,” Trump wrote in a social media post on Friday. He added that the “bulk” of that additional investment will be made in the next 14 months.
One person familiar with the negotiations said the social media post was likely to be seen as “tacit approval” by the administration of a $15bn merger agreement reached with US Steel at the end of 2023.
They added that further meetings would be needed to formalise the president’s approval.
US Steel did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Nippon declined to comment.
“My Tariff Policies will ensure that Steel will once again be, forever, MADE IN AMERICA,” the president added. The parameters of the deal, which had long been touted as an acquisition of the US company by Nippon, were not immediately clear.
This is a developing story
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