On June 13, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order authorizing the acquisition of the American steel giant US Steel by the Japanese company Nippon Steel, which entails an investment of $14.9 billion into the U.S. enterprise.
The acquisition of US Steel by Nippon Steel serves as a striking example of how mergers and acquisitions (M&A) involving foreign entities in the U.S. are transforming into operations subject to stringent state oversight, where the deal’s structure is largely driven by the need to counter China’s influence in the strategically critical steel industry — a sector where China accounted for approximately 54% of global steel production in 2023.
Even without evidence of Chinese investment in the Japanese company, the United States embedded a permanent safeguard through a “golden share,” enabling the U.S. government to block any decisions regarding the relocation of production, capital withdrawal, or technology transfers outside the U.S.
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