In today’s editor’s page, Heat Treat Today‘s Daily Editor, Tiffany Ward, provides a history of U.S. Steel and the recent Nippon Steel merger.
What is U.S. Steel’s history and what does the future look like for this company after a new merger? This short, informative post fills in the gap.
U.S. Steel Yesterday
If you walk along a Pittsburgh street, the phrase “Steel City” will likely appear on a wall mural or passerby’s hoodie. In 1901 four men (J.P. Morgan, Charles Schwab, Andrew Carnegie, and Elbert H. Gary), formed the United States Steel Corporation (known simply as U.S. Steel). Its global headquarters are still located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where it has a huge local impact.
From its inception, U.S. Steel has made an impact across the country in producing steel for famous structures such as the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, the United Nations Building in New York City, the “Three Sisters” Bridges in Pittsburgh, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, and many others. During the Great Depression, the company suffered an all-time low in sales, but recovered, and by 2003 became the fifth largest steel producer in the world.
U.S. Steel Today
Almost twenty years later, in 2022, U.S. Steel produced less steel than it had in its founding year, over a century earlier. This was the culmination of a long-standing decline in steel production in the United States, which affected many U.S. producers. On December 18, 2023, Nippon Steel Corporation, a Japanese company, made a $14.9 billion acquisition offer for U.S. Steel and the two companies entered into an official merger conversation. The potential merger agreement between Nippon and U.S. Steel included Nippon’s pledge to invest $2.7 billion to modernize U.S. Steel’s facilities in Pennsylvania and Indiana, and to keep U.S. Steel’s headquarters in Pittsburgh, making the agreement a locally invested issue.
The merger was met with political and economic controversy, facing direct executive orders and review interventions. Both former President Joe Biden, and current President Donald Trump made efforts to block the deal. On January 3, 2025, former President Joe Biden prohibited the acquisition through executive order, reserving executive powers to issue further orders on this matter if needed. According to a statement from The White House, the motivation for such a move was “a strong domestically owned and operated steel industry represents an essential national security priority and is critical for resilient supply chains.” The Biden administration delayed, however, in enforcing that initial order. On April 7, 2025, President Donald Trump made use of those previously reserved powers to direct the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to review the acquisition deal to see if further action may be appropriate. President Trump’s rationale mirrored that of former President Biden. He stated to reporters on April 13, 2025, “I don’t think a foreign company should control U.S. Steel.”
Despite this opposition, U.S. Steel affirmed in a press release on April 17 that the two companies were still in a “definite merger agreement,” and referred to the deal as a “pending transaction.”
In a recent development, President Donald Trump changed his tone of opposition to the deal. On May 23, the President made a social media post in support of the merger, which was met with deep appreciation by U.S. Steel in a corresponding press release.
U.S. Steel Tomorrow
Source: U.S. Steel Corporation
On June 13, 2025 President Donald Trump signed an executive order permitting the deal to commence, contingent upon an agreement with the Treasury Department to address national security concerns. With White House support being the most significant component to the merger’s conclusion, spirits have now buoyed around its development.
The impending deal brings with it a multi-billion dollar infusion into U.S. Steel’s infrastructure. Nippon now plans to invest $4 billion in a U.S. based steel mill, with the intention of investing $11 billion in total infrastructure projects by 2028.
The prospect of revitalized steel production in the United States brings excitement to many in the heat treatment industry.
This article is being updated to include the most recent developments. Last updated on 06-17-2025.
References
“2022 Annual Report—U.S. Steel” 2022. https://investors.ussteel.com/sec-filings/all-sec-filings/content/0001104659-23-030780/tm231813d6_ars.pdf
“About Us – History,” United States Steel Corporation, Accessed April 22, 2025. https://www.ussteel.com/about-us/history.
Biden, Jr., Joseph R. “Order Regarding the Proposed Acquisition of United States Steel Corporation by Nippon Steel Corporation,” White House Archives. January 3, 2025. https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2025/01/03/order-regarding-the-proposed-acquisition-of-united-states-steel-corporation-by-nippon-steel-corporation/
Biden, Jr., Joseph R. “Statement from President Joe Biden,” White House Archives. January 3, 2025. https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2025/01/03/statement-from-president-joe-biden-13/.
Boselovic, L. “Steel Standing: U.S. Steel Celebrates 100 Years,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 2001. https://web.archive.org/web/20181012210047/http://old.post-gazette.com/businessnews/20010225ussteel2.asp
“Cleveland-Cliffs Proposes to Acquire U.S. Steel,” Cliffs. Cleveland Cliffs, August 13, 2023. https://www.clevelandcliffs.com/news/news-releases/detail/600/cleveland-cliffs-proposes-to-acquire-u-s-steel.
“Nippon Steel to invest $4 billion for new U.S. Steel mill,” Reuters, Accessed May 28, 2025. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/20/nippon-steel-to-invest-4-billion-for-new-us-steel-mill-reuters-.html
Trump, Donald J. “Review of Proposed United States Steel Corporation Acquisition,” The White House. April 7, 2025. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/review-of-proposed-united-states-steel-corporation-acquisition/.
Trump, Donald J. “Regarding the Proposed Acquisition of United States Steel Corporation by Nippon Steel Corporation,” The White House. June 13, 2025. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/06/regarding-the-proposed-acquisition-of-the-united-states-steel-corporation-by-nippon-steel-corporation/
“Trump Opposes Foreign Control of US Steel amid Nippon Steel’s $14 Billion Bid,” The Economic Times, April 14, 2025. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/trump-opposes-foreign-control-of-us-steel-amid-nippon-steels-14-billion-bid/articleshow/120267416.cms.
“United States Steel Corporation,” Accessed April 22, 2025. https://www.ussteel.com.
“United States Steel Corporation to Release First Quarter 2025 Financial Results on May 1, 2025,” United States Steel Corporation, April 17, 2025. https://www.ussteel.com/newsroom/-/blogs/united-states-steel-corporation-to-release-first-quarter-2025-financial-results-on-may-1-2025
“U. S. Steel Statement on President Trump’s Leadership,” United States Steel Corporation, May 28, 2025. https://www.ussteel.com/newsroom/-/blogs/u-s-steel-statement-on-president-trump-s-leadership
For more information: Contact Tiffany at Tiffany@heattreattoday.com
