Trump Raises Tariff, Celebrates U.S. Steel Investment \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ President Donald Trump announced a 50% tariff on imported steel while promoting a new investment deal between U.S. Steel and Japan’s Nippon Steel. Speaking at a plant near Pittsburgh, Trump claimed the partnership would preserve American control, though details remain scarce. Union and political reactions are mixed.
Quick Looks
- Trump doubles steel tariffs to 50% during Pennsylvania visit.
- U.S. Steel deal with Nippon Steel touted as partial U.S. ownership.
- Trump vows U.S. Steel will remain under American control.
- Union reaction is skeptical amid unclear ownership structure.
- $14B new Nippon investment planned atop $14.9B original bid.
- Lawmakers, including Fetterman and McCormick, voice mixed support.
- Trump shifts stance after initially opposing Nippon’s acquisition.
- Steelworkers call for plant upgrades and job protections.
Deep Look
President Donald Trump made headlines Friday during a speech at U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, where he announced a sweeping 50% tariff on imported steel, doubling the existing rate in an effort to bolster the domestic steel industry. Standing before a crowd of steelworkers, local officials, and supporters under massive American flags, Trump used the occasion to promote a high-stakes investment deal involving U.S. Steel and Japan’s Nippon Steel—while asserting the company would remain under U.S. control.
The tariff announcement is the latest in Trump’s renewed push to project strength on trade and manufacturing, particularly in swing states like Pennsylvania, which have large industrial workforces. “We’re here today to celebrate a blockbuster agreement that will ensure this storied American company stays an American company,” Trump declared to cheers from a warehouse filled with coiled steel and orange-helmeted workers.
Trump’s new tariff policy, while aimed at shielding domestic producers, could also have the side effect of raising prices on products that depend on steel, including housing materials, appliances, and automobiles. Steel prices have already risen about 16% since Trump took office, according to federal data.
But the event’s central theme was the evolving arrangement between U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel, which has been at the heart of political and labor tensions since Nippon’s original $14.9 billion takeover proposal in late 2023. Trump, who previously pledged to block any foreign takeover of the iconic Pittsburgh-based company, reversed course in recent days and promoted a new deal structure he described as a “strategic partnership” that preserves U.S. oversight.
Though few specifics have been publicly confirmed, Trump insisted the agreement involves American majority control, U.S.-based leadership, and what insiders describe as a “golden share” arrangement—giving the federal government veto power to protect national interests. U.S. Steel itself has not formally communicated the terms to investors, and Nippon has offered only general support for the idea of a partnership.
State and federal lawmakers briefed on the discussions say Nippon will still acquire U.S. Steel but will also invest an additional $14 billion into U.S. operations in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Arkansas, Alabama, and Minnesota. The expansion reportedly includes plans to build a new electric arc furnace mill, though no location has been confirmed.
The United Steelworkers (USW) union remains skeptical. A spokesperson said the union has seen “no meaningful change” from the original acquisition structure, and questioned whether Nippon had truly walked back its prior insistence on full ownership. While some rank-and-file workers view the investment as necessary to revive crumbling infrastructure, others remain wary of foreign involvement.
“We ain’t really producing as much as we should be because this place is old,” said Clifford Hammonds, a line feeder at the Irvin plant. “It’s falling apart. We need some type of investment to fix the machines we’ve got working.”
For now, the deal remains in flux. Congressman Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania told Fox News that the plan was a “strategic partnership where it’s American-owned, American-run and remains in America,” but acknowledged he hadn’t seen the final version. Senator David McCormick, another Republican from Pennsylvania, also shifted from initial opposition to support, calling the investment “great for the domestic steel industry.”
On the Democratic side, Senator John Fetterman—who famously lives across the street from a U.S. Steel blast furnace—claimed credit for helping block the original Nippon bid until more U.S. concessions were made. “Nippon coughed up an extra $14 billion,” he said, though he stopped short of endorsing the new deal outright. Governor Josh Shapiro has expressed “cautious optimism,” but has also not fully embraced the arrangement.
The political stakes are high for Trump, especially in battleground states like Pennsylvania, where manufacturing and blue-collar jobs are core concerns for working-class voters. Trump and President Joe Biden both opposed foreign ownership of U.S. Steel during their campaigns, and the final outcome of the Nippon deal could carry electoral consequences in upcoming midterm and general elections.
Despite the controversy, local leaders like West Mifflin Mayor Chris Kelly are celebrating the investment. “It will save thousands of jobs,” he said. “I’m ecstatic about the deal, even though we don’t have all the details yet.”
What’s clear is that the U.S. Steel saga has become a test case for Trump’s second-term industrial policy: navigating foreign investment while protecting iconic American companies, jobs, and supply chains. Whether the new tariff hike and proposed partnership will achieve those goals—or simply raise costs and deepen labor distrust—remains to be seen.
Trump Raises Tariff Trump Raises Tariff
You must Register or Login to post a comment.