Photo/Illutration Eiji Hashimoto, chairman and chief executive officer of Nippon Steel Corp., speaks about the company’s acquisition of U.S. Steel at a news conference on June 19. (Tetsuro Takehana)

Nippon Steel Corp. emphasized that it has secured sufficient freedom in management of U.S. Steel and its profitability despite substantial control granted to the U.S. government.

“We are fully satisfied with the agreement,” Eiji Hashimoto, the company’s chairman and chief executive officer, told a news conference on June 19, referring to the buyout of the iconic U.S. steelmaker.

Nippon Steel, which ranked fourth in the world in crude steel production in 2024, acquired all shares in the 29th-ranked U.S. Steel for $14.1 billion (2 trillion yen) and turned the company into a wholly owned subsidiary.

Hashimoto said the acquisition is “extremely reasonable and efficient” compared with building steelmaking facilities in the United States from scratch.

U.S. President Donald Trump approved the deal on the condition that Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel conclude a national security agreement with the U.S. government.

The accord will afford Washington sizable control over the management of U.S. Steel.

According to Nippon Steel, U.S. nationals will account for a majority of U.S. Steel’s board of directors, which has a maximum of nine members.

The chief executive officer will also be an American.

In addition, an external director will be appointed by the U.S. government and the appointments of two others must be approved by Washington.

Takahiro Mori, vice chairman of Nippon Steel, will serve as U.S. Steel’s chairman.

Nippon Steel also promised an additional $11 billion investment, mainly in production facilities, by 2028, when Trump’s second term ends.

Japan’s top steelmaker issued a “golden share” to the U.S. government free of charge, which will give extensive veto power over key management decisions at U.S. Steel, in accordance with the national security agreement.

“We recognized the U.S. government’s intention to oversee the execution of our investment and proposed the golden share to demonstrate our stance in an easy-to-understand manner,” Hashimoto said.

With the special share, the U.S. government can veto such decisions as relocating U.S. Steel’s headquarters from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, changing the company name and transferring production or jobs outside the United States.

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