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President Trump’s foray into the takeover could reshape the future of foreign investment in the United States.
June 13, 2025Updated 3:55 p.m. ET
The mystery around a $14 billion deal between U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel continued to deepen, as President Donald Trump said this week that the United States would have a “golden share” in the iconic American metal manufacturer, a move that would potentially give the federal government an unusually substantial amount of control over corporate decisions.
“We have a golden stock. We have a golden share, which I control, or the president controls,” Mr. Trump told reporters in the East Room of the White House on Thursday. “Now I’m a little concerned whoever the president might be, but that gives you total control.”
The comments, which echoed those last month by a Republican senator in U.S. Steel’s home state, Pennsylvania, suggest that Mr. Trump is insisting on having expansive influence over the steel company as a condition for allowing the deal to close.
Yet details of how a “golden share” would work remain murky, as U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel scramble to complete their deal, which Mr. Trump announced in a surprise social media post last month.
Neither Mr. Trump nor the companies have confirmed whether the deal is a takeover of U.S. Steel by Nippon Steel, a partnership between the companies or some new form of government-backed venture.
Last week, the powerful United Steelworkers union, which had long opposed a sale to Nippon Steel, sent a request to U.S. Steel pushing for more information about the deal.
