Latest news with #U.S.Steel
Nikkei Asia
5 hours ago
- Business
- Nikkei Asia
U.S. Steel deal awaits Trump's final approval ahead of June deadline
TOKYO -- As U.S. President Donald Trump hails the partnership between Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel, the Japanese steelmaker is scrambling to clear two key hurdles ahead of the June 18 deadline for the purchase. Trump did not clarify the details of the deal in a speech to U.S. Steel workers at a rally in Pennsylvania on Friday.
Kyodo News
5 hours ago
- Business
- Kyodo News
Kyodo News Digest: May 31, 2025
KYODO NEWS - 2 hours ago - 23:07 | All, Japan, World The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News. ---------- Japan, U.S. vow to spur cybersecurity cooperation amid rising threats SINGAPORE - Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth agreed Saturday to boost cybersecurity cooperation, following Japan's enactment of a law allowing the government to monitor online communications amid rising cyber threats. After their talks in Singapore, meanwhile, Nakatani did not clarify whether Hegseth had requested Japan pay more for defense during their meeting. U.S. President Donald Trump views the long-standing security treaty with Japan as unfair and one-sided. ---------- Seoul subway fire set by man, 400 passengers evacuate through tunnel SEOUL - A man started a fire inside a moving subway train in Seoul around 8:40 a.m. on Saturday, forcing about 400 passengers to evacuate on foot through the tunnel, according to South Korean media. The incident occurred near the center of the capital. The suspect fled the scene but was apprehended at a nearby station. Police are investigating his motives, as he appears to have started the fire using gasoline he brought with him. ---------- Japan's cheaper stockpiled rice starts hitting store shelves TOKYO - The Japanese government's stockpiled rice released through direct contracts with retailers began hitting store shelves Saturday, with consumers flocking to the cheaper products. Major supermarket operator Ito-Yokado Co. and home appliance company Iris Ohyama Inc. were the first to start selling the rice at some of their shops, both setting a price tag of 2,160 yen ($15) including tax for a 5 kilogram-bag. ---------- Museum featuring Asian works opens on Japanese island of art NAOSHIMA, Japan - A museum dedicated to contemporary Asian works opened Saturday on Naoshima Island in Kagawa Prefecture, known as an island of art and the only Japanese destination to make the BBC's list of the 25 best places to travel in 2025. The Naoshima New Museum of Art, designed by renowned architect Tadao Ando, is located in a hilltop village overlooking the Seto Inland Sea in western Japan. Featuring black plaster walls and stone fences, the building has a calm, subdued appearance. ---------- Trump lauds Nippon Steel as "great partner" for U.S. Steel WEST MIFFLIN, Pennsylvania - President Donald Trump on Friday heaped praise on Nippon Steel Corp. over what he views as a partnership deal with United States Steel Corp., offering backing to the Japanese company's $14 billion investment into the iconic but struggling American producer. During a speech at a U.S. Steel plant in Pennsylvania, Trump called Nippon Steel a "great partner" and said the two steelmakers will form a "tremendous relationship" without offering many details about the deal, which he has never described as being the buyout the Japanese company has desired. ---------- Japan, U.S. agree tariff talks making progress toward deal WASHINGTON - Japan's chief tariff negotiator said Friday that he and U.S. Cabinet members agreed in their talks that they are making progress toward a potential tariff deal as early as June. After a meeting in Washington with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's minister in charge of economic revitalization, told reporters that they plan to hold another round of negotiations before a Group of Seven summit in mid-June. ---------- Chinese tourists returning to Japan with new travel style TOKYO - Chinese tourists are driving a recent surge in inbound travel to Japan, with arrivals now exceeding pre-pandemic 2019 levels, though their travel habits are shifting noticeably. Previously, Chinese tourism in Japan was defined by large group tours and shopping sprees known as "bakugai." Nowadays, however, more travelers are seeking immersive experiences related to Japanese cuisine, culture and scenery, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization. ---------- Japan consumer watchdog warns of rice scam websites as prices soar TOKYO - Japan's consumer affairs center has called on people grappling with soaring rice prices to beware of websites claiming to sell the staple at heavily discounted prices. The National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan said complaints related to such websites have spiked since March, with some claiming the rice was never delivered though payment had been made. Video: Universal Studios Japan's special performance at Osaka Expo
Saudi Gazette
5 hours ago
- Business
- Saudi Gazette
Trump doubles steel and aluminum tariffs to 50%
WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump announced Friday a sharp increase in tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, raising the rate from 25% to 50%, in a bid to bolster American manufacturing and close what he described as loopholes exploited by foreign competitors. Speaking at a rally held at a U.S. Steel facility in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Trump told supporters and industry stakeholders: 'We are going to be imposing a 25% increase. We're going to bring it from 25% to 50%... which will even further secure the steel industry in the United States. Nobody's going to get around that.' Trump argued that the previous tariff rate allowed some importers to bypass the intended protections. 'At 25%, they can sort of get over that fence. At 50%, they can no longer get over the fence,' he said, calling it 'a great deal' for American producers. Addressing investors in the domestic steel sector, the president emphasized his commitment to economic nationalism and industrial revival, adding: 'I said the tariff to me is the most beautiful word in the dictionary.' — Agencies
Time Magazine
5 hours ago
- Business
- Time Magazine
Trump Explains Reason Behind Doubling Steel, Aluminum Tariffs—But Critics Issue Stark Warnings Over ‘Reckless' Move
President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he plans to double the tariffs on steel and aluminum—increasing the charge from 25% to 50%. The tariff escalation comes at a precarious time, as Trump's 'reciprocal' tariffs are immersed in legal trouble at the court level and many U.S. businesses are struggling to contend with the back-and-forth nature of the levies. Trump's announcement also coincides with the 'blockbuster' agreement between U.S. Steel and Japanese steel company Nippon, a deal which he promised will include no layoffs and the steelmaker will be "controlled by the USA." The steepened tariffs could potentially further escalate tensions between the U.S. and its previous top steel partners, which include Canada, Brazil, Mexico, South Korea, and Vietnam. As the U.S.' number one steel importer, Canada —with whom the U.S. has already escalated tensions due to Trump's other tariffs—stands to feel the pressure of this latest move. Here's what to know about Trump's doubled tariffs and what experts have to say about it. What has Trump said about doubling the steel and aluminum tariffs? Trump announced his decision during a rally at U.S. Steel's Mon Valley Works–Irvin Plant near Pittsburgh in West Mifflin, Penn., surrounded by hardhat-donned steel workers. 'We're going to bring it from 25% percent to 50%—the tariffs on steel into the United States of America—which will even further secure the steel industry in the United States,' Trump told the crowd, offering his reasoning that the increased charges will ultimately help the domestic industry. 'Nobody's going to get around that.' He later posted about his decision on social media, revealing that the tariffs would also be raised for aluminum.'Our steel and aluminum industries are coming back like never before,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. 'This will be yet another BIG jolt of great news for our wonderful steel and aluminum workers.' When are the doubled tariffs due to come into effect? In Trump's announcement post on Truth Social, he said that the doubled tariffs would come into effect on Wednesday, June 4. Although it's worth noting that other tariff threats—such as the proposed 50% charge on the E.U. and the majority of Trump's 'reciprocal' tariffs that he announced on April 2—have been temporarily paused to allow time for negotiations. It remains to be seen if an extension will be granted for this new June 4 date. The back-and-forth on tariff dates and rates has left many businesses in limbo, though Felix Tintelnot, professor of economics at Duke University, says that with steel and aluminum, the Administration has generally followed through on the timings they've announced. The question, he says, is how long the 50% will stand, as he's seen the rates 'flip-flopping all the time.' Tintelnot argues that the resulting uncertainty is causing real harm to U.S. businesses and thus, in turn, impacting workers, despite Trump's claims that the tariffs will bring large amounts of money to the U.S. steel industry. 'We're talking about expansion of capacity of heavy industry that comes with significant upfront investments, and no business leader should take heavy upfront investments if they don't believe that the same policy is there two, three, or four years from now,' Tintelnot says. 'Regardless of whether you're in favor [of] or against these tariffs, you don't want the President to just set tax rates arbitrarily, sort of by Executive Order all the time.' How have lawmakers, industry people, and experts reacted? Though Tintelnot agrees that the escalated tariffs should help the domestic steel industry, he says it will be coinciding with struggles in other U.S. industries as a result of the increase. 'So, this is expected to raise the price of aluminum, which is important in inputs for downstream industries like the automotive industry, as well as construction, so there's sort of a distributional conflict here,' Tintelnot warns. 'Yes, it does help the domestic steel sector, but [it's] hurting these other sectors of the economy, and they are already hard hit by other tariffs.' The USW (Unity and Strength for Workers, most commonly referred to as United Steelworkers)—a trade union of steelworkers across North America— said in a statement that the increase will have a negative impact on Canada's industries and jobs. 'This isn't trade policy—it's a direct attack on Canadian industries and workers,' said Marty Warren, United Steelworkers national director for Canada. 'Thousands of Canadian jobs are on the line and communities that rely on steel and aluminum are being put at risk. Canada needs to respond immediately and decisively to defend workers.' Meanwhile, Bea Bruske, president of the Canadian Labour Congress, said that the plan to double tariffs is a 'direct attack on Canadian workers and a reckless move' and warned that it "could shut Canadian steel and aluminum out of the U.S. market entirely and put thousands of good union jobs at risk." Speaking about the tariffs overall, Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Friday that he intends to jumpstart and fast track national building projects throughout the country to respond to Trump's trade war, 'ensuring that the Canadian government becomes a catalyst for, not an impediment to, nation-building projects that will supercharge growth in communities, both large and small.' Other international lawmakers, meanwhile, have voiced their disapproval of Trump's tariffs escalations.
Euronews
9 hours ago
- Business
- Euronews
Trump announces 50% increase in steel and aluminium tariffs
Donald Trump announced on Friday at a rally in front of Pennsylvania steel workers that he will double tariffs on steel imports to 50 per cent, a move that could exacerbate the ongoing trade war with the EU, China and the rest of the world. The US president said that doubling taxes on imported steel would "further strengthen the steel industry in the United States". In a post, published later on his Truth Social platform, the US president added that duties on aluminium will also increase from 25 per cent to 50 per cent. Trump said both increases will come into effect on Wednesday, 4 June. The announcement comes after confusing days during which the judiciary gave opposing rulings on Trump's customs policy, first blocking it with a decision by the US Court of International Trade and finally giving it the green light again, pending a new decision by a federal appeals court. Trump spoke on Friday at U.S. Steel's Mon Valley Works-Irvin plant on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he also discussed details of a deal being finalised for investment by Japan's Nippon Steel in the iconic American steel mill. Trump clarified to reporters after his return to Washington, however, that he has yet to approve the deal. "I have to approve the final agreement with Nippon and we haven't seen the final agreement yet, but they've made a very big commitment and it's a very big investment," he said. Although Trump initially promised to block the Japanese steelmaker's bid to buy U.S. Steel, he changed course and last week announced an agreement for a partial sale to Nippon Steel. The Japanese company never claimed to have changed its previous offer to buy and fully control U.S. Steel, for $14.9 billion, although it did increase the amount it promised to invest in American plants and guaranteed it would not lay anyone off. "We are here today to celebrate anextraordinary deal that will ensure that this historic American company will remain an American company," Trump said during a rally at one of U.S. Steel's warehouses, "you will remain an American company, you know that, right?" The United Steelworkers union said it was very concerned "about the impact this merger of U.S. Steel with a foreign competitor will have on national security, our members, and the communities where we live and work." According to the government's producer price index, steel prices have risen 16 per cent since Trump became president in mid-January. As of March 2025, steel cost $984 per metric tonne in the US, far more than the price in Europe ($690) or China ($392), according to the US Department of Commerce. Among the partners most affected by the possible increase in duties on these materials are the EU, which had just obtained a July postponement of the increase in general duties on exports to the US, and Canada. "Dismantling efficient, competitive, and reliable cross-border supply chains like we have in steel and aluminium comes at a high cost to both countries," Candace Laing, president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce commented. Last year, the US produced about three times as much steel as it imported, with Canada, Brazil, Mexico and South Korea as the main sources of imports. Analysts have credited the duties dating back to Trump's first term with helping to strengthen the domestic steel industry. The fate of U.S. Steel, once the world's largest steel company, could weigh in the midterm elections for the Republican Party in the always decisive state of Pennsylvania and others that depend on manufacturing.
