Jun 6, 2025 - Business

Trump's U.S. Steel decision may come later than expected

Dan Primack

Illustration of the Japanese flag made out of steel — Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

U.S. Steel workers and shareholders remain in limbo as to the status of its pending takeover by Japan's Nippon Steel, one week after President Trump suggested it was a done deal.

The big picture: We may not get a White House decision today, despite widespread expectations to the contrary.

Zoom in: Under normal procedures, Trump is required to give approval or block a deal within 15 days of receiving a CFIUS recommendation. That's today.

But as we reported last month, CFIUS didn't plan to provide a traditional recommendation to Trump. Instead, it gave him information and analysis (even though Trump said last Friday that he hadn't even seen the final deal).
Thus, the 15-day deadline may be moot.

The intrigue: Nippon still hasn't confirmed that it's agreed to grant the U.S. a so-called "golden share" in the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker, or guarantee that it's CEO would be a U.S. citizen.

Zoom out: Plus, Trump has shown a willingness to ignore mandated deadlines if deal negotiations are ongoing (e.g., TikTok), so it's not even clear that a traditional CFIUS requirement would have mattered.

The bottom line: The only date that really matters now is June 18, which is when the merger is slated to close.

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Trump's U.S. Steel decision may come later than expected

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