Trump says U.S. will have 'golden share' in U.S. Steel after Nippon deal

Published 1 month ago• 3 minute read

U.S. President Donald Trump walks with North American Flat-Rolled Segment Senior Vice President and Chief Manufacturing Officer Scott Buckiso, Plant manager of Irvin and Fairless Plant Donald German and Mon Valley Works United Steel Corporation Vice President Kurt Barshick, as he visits U.S. Steel Corporation–Irvin Works in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, U.S., May 30, 2025.

Leah Millis | Reuters

President Donald Trump said Thursday that the U.S. will have a "golden share" in U.S. Steel after its deal with Japan's Nippon Steel closes.

"We have a golden stock. We have a golden share, which I control, or the president controls," Trump told reporters in the East Room of the White House. "That gives you total control."

Trump said Americans would have 51% ownership of U.S. Steel without providing details on how the deal is structured.

Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick told CNBC last month that the U.S. will have a golden share that allows it to control a number of U.S. Steel board seats to ensure production levels aren't cut.

"It's a national security agreement that will be signed with the U.S. government," McCormick told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on May 27.

But the White House, U.S. Steel and Nippon have left investors and union members in the dark for weeks now on what shape the deal will take and when it will be finalized.

Trump announced what he called a "planned partnership" between the two companies on May 23. The president's statement created confusion because U.S. Steel has said since December 2023 that it will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Nippon North America.

Trump had ordered a new review of the deal in April after President Joe Biden blocked the transaction in January. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States submitted a recommendation to Trump on May 21.

The president had 15-days to make a decision on the committee's recommendation under the normal rules governing the process. But the White House, U.S. Steel and Nippon have not provided details on the status of the deal since the 15-day period ended last week.

The United Steelworkers union sent a letter to U.S. Steel last Friday demanding details about the deal.

"We have seen nothing credible regarding the nature of this so-called partnership, including whether it meaningfully differs from Nippon's initial proposal to acquire U.S Steel and make it a wholly owned subsidiary," the union said in a statement Friday addressed to its members.

Trump said U.S. Steel will be "controlled by the USA" during a rally at one of the company's plants in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania on May 30. Shortly after the rally, however, the president said the deal had not been finalized yet.

"I have to approve the final deal with Nippon, and we haven't seen that final deal yet," Trump said.

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