Trump: "If Elected, I Will Absolutely Block US Steel's Sale to Japan"

Former U.S. President Donald Trump stated that if he wins the presidential election this November, he will unconditionally block the sale of American steel company US Steel to Japan.

According to Bloomberg and other sources on January 31 (local time), Trump made this statement after meeting with the Teamsters union in Washington, D.C.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Trump said, "We saved the steel industry. But now US Steel is being sold to Japan," calling it "a terrible thing." He added, "I hope the jobs come back to America."

This is the first time Trump has explicitly opposed the sale of US Steel.

With a 122-year history, US Steel was once a symbol of the American steel industry, even reaching the top spot in global market capitalization. However, since the 1960s, it began to lose ground to foreign companies from Japan, Germany, and others. Ultimately, in December last year, Nippon Steel, the world's fourth-largest steel producer, agreed to purchase US Steel for $14.1 billion (approximately 18.3 trillion won).

This statement is interpreted as targeting Trump's core support base of white working-class voters. With a high likelihood of a Biden-Trump rematch, President Joe Biden has actively courted workers, including visiting the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike site. Consequently, battleground states such as Pennsylvania, where US Steel's headquarters are located, have emerged as key election hotspots.

Currently, the U.S. steel union and some politicians oppose the sale of US Steel, citing concerns over the weakening of the steel industry base and national security. The Biden administration has stated it will thoroughly review the national security implications before approving the acquisition and emphasized the need to protect American union workers' jobs during the review process.

The decision on the sale of US Steel will be made after review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Bloomberg forecasts that the outcome is likely to be announced after the presidential election in November this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.