Trump Says Tariffs Are Saving US Steel
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Shares of United States Steel Corp. dropped as much as 1.9% after President Donald Trump said his tariffs are saving the company, while distancing himself from his offer to negotiate an investment by Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel Corp.
When asked what chief executive officers think about his recently announced steel and aluminum tariffs, Trump said they’re “in love with them.” U.S. Steel is “through the roof,” he said, justifying his opposition to the proposed sale to Nippon Steel.
“I think maybe more than anybody else the steel companies, and the aluminum companies, they’re in love with what’s happened and this will eventually be the car companies, chip companies,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Feb. 13. “As you know, in Pennsylvania, U.S. Steel is through the roof. They’re all through the roof. That’s why I didn’t want U.S. Steel to make a deal with Japan or anybody else.”
The comments come less than a week after Trump indicated that Nippon Steel is considering investing in U.S. Steel instead of an outright purchase, and later said Nippon Steel cannot have a majority stake in the U.S. company. Shares of the American steelmaker are down since the president’s initial comments amid worries among investors that Trump is indicating the current merger agreement, to sell to Nippon Steel at $55 a share, is effectively dead.
RELATED: Investor Seeks to Quash US Steel-Nippon Deal
“I think U.S. Steel right now has all the power,” Trump said. “The tariffs have given U.S. Steel a new lease on life.”
Trump declined to repeat his previous pledge to help negotiate an investment from Nippon Steel, saying “I don’t know” when asked if he still planned to facilitate talks.
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