西米夫林，宾夕法尼亚州（美联社）——唐纳德·特朗普总统于周五向宾夕法尼亚州的钢铁工人掷地有声地宣告，他将钢铁进口关税悍然加倍至50%，此举旨在庇护该州岌岌可危的钢铁产业。此番关税飙升恐将进一步加剧钢铁价格的飞涨，而钢铁作为一种关键性金属，广泛应用于住房建设、汽车制造及其他多元化商品的生产领域。

Subsequent to this announcement, his communiqué on the Truth Social platform elaborated further, stipulating a doubling of tariffs on aluminum products to a prohibitive 50%, asserting that both impositions would be enacted forthwith on Wednesday.

Addressing attendees at the U.S. Steel's Mon Valley Works–Irvin Plant in a Pittsburgh exurb, Trump alluded to a forthcoming accord, the specifics of which remain undisclosed, under which Nippon Steel of Japan is poised to invest in the venerable American steel concern.

Upon his return to Washington, Trump informed the press that his imprimatur remained requisite for the consummation of the accord, stating, "I must still ratify the definitive agreement with New Fortress Energy; we have yet to see the *in extenso* final documentation, though they have profferred commitments of considerable magnitude, representing a gargantuan capital outlay."

Despite Trump's initial vociferous pledges to stymie the acquisition of US Steel, headquartered in Pittsburgh, by the Japanese steel behemoth Nippon Steel, he ultimately executed an about-face, promulgating an accord last week that would grant Nippon Steel a "partial ownership" stake, the precise contours of which remain somewhat nebulous.

However, whether the deal brokered by his administration has been definitively consummated, or the modalities of ownership established, remains shrouded in uncertainty; Nippon Steel, despite augmenting its pledges of capital investment in US Steel facilities and proffering assurances against layoffs or plant closures while soliciting federal approval for the acquisition, has never explicitly renounced its ambition to wholly acquire and control US Steel through a fully-owned subsidiary.

Addressing attendees at a U.S. Steel facility, Trump averred, "We convene today to commemorate a signal accord, one that will ensure this venerable American enterprise retains its American identity in perpetuity. You shall remain, in essence and in practice, an American corporation, a verity self-evident, wouldn't you concur?"

With respect to tariffs, Trump posited that doubling those levied on imported steel would "further safeguard the American steel industry"; however, such a substantial augmentation risks exacerbating inflationary pressures, given that steel prices have already appreciated by 16% since his inauguration in mid-January, according to governmental producer price indices.

As of March 2025, the ex-works price of steel in the United States, pegged at $984 per metric ton, dwarfed that of Europe ($690) and China ($392); according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, domestic steel production last year tripled import volumes, with Canada, Brazil, Mexico, and South Korea constituting the principal foreign purveyors.

Analysts posit that the tariffs implemented since the inception of the Trump administration's first term have served to fortify the domestic steel industry, a strategic advantage that Nippon Steel sought to exploit in its bid to acquire U.S. Steel, thereby leveraging protectionist policies to facilitate transatlantic consolidation.

The United Steelworkers, however, remains deeply skeptical, with its president, David McCall, articulating in a statement the union's paramount apprehension: "The prospective ramifications for national security, our membership, and the very communities where we live and work, engendered by the absorption of U.S. Steel into the fold of a foreign competitor, are a source of profound disquiet."

Trump underscored that the accord would preserve the United States' dominion over this venerable corporation, an entity perceived as a potent political symbol whilst simultaneously being of paramount geostrategic importance to the national supply chain, automotive manufacturing and cognate industries, and, inextricably, to national security imperatives.

Since his return to the White House, Trump has evinced a palpable eagerness to broker agreements and herald novel US investments, whilst concurrently striving to placate the constituents who elected him on a platform of safeguarding American manufacturing, encompassing, inter alia, blue-collar workers.

U.S. Steel has yet to divulge any granular specifics of the restructuring accord to its investors, whilst Nippon Steel, in issuing a statement, has ostensibly endorsed the proposed "partnership," albeit remaining equally circumspect regarding the definitive stipulations.

As briefed to state and federal legislators, the accord stipulates that Nippon Steel's acquisition of U.S. Steel will be accompanied by a multi-billion dollar capital infusion into U.S. Steel's facilities across Pennsylvania, Indiana, Alabama, Arkansas, and Minnesota. Operational oversight will reside with an executive cohort and board principally comprised of American nationals, buttressed by a "golden share" mechanism held by the U.S. government, affording preemptive veto power to safeguard national interests.

The United Steelworkers union, initially ambivalent regarding Nippon Steel's acquisition bid, has experienced a palpable shift in sentiment as the increasing likelihood of U.S. Steel shuttering its Pittsburgh-area facilities becomes a grimly accepted eventuality.

Inside the factory where Trump delivered his address, Clifford Hammonds, a supply worker on the assembly line, averred that the accord would, at a minimum, catalyze the refurbishment of the antiquated plant and augment output, elaborating, "This is about reinvesting capital into the factory to facilitate its reconstruction, given its moribund state and structural dilapidation. Our throughput is demonstrably suboptimal due to the aforementioned obsolescence and decrepitude. We are in dire need of capital infusion to remediate the existing machinery."

Irrespective of the stipulations embedded within the agreement, this matter assumes paramount significance for Trump, who, echoing sentiments previously articulated by President Biden, emphatically asserted on numerous occasions throughout the preceding year his unwavering resolve to obstruct this transaction and forestall the extraterritorial acquisition of U.S. Steel.

During his campaign, Trump pledged to prioritise the revitalisation of American manufacturing in his second term, a promise now freighted with the potential political albatross of US Steel's fate – formerly a titan of global industry – threatening to encumber Republican prospects in Pennsylvania and other Rust Belt swing states during the midterms.

Trump posited on Sunday that he would withhold ratification of the accord unless U.S. Steel remained under American suzerainty, concurrently pledging that the corporation's headquarters would remain ensconced in Pittsburgh.

Concluding his address on Friday, President Trump expressed his gratitude to the steelworkers, proclaiming, "With the indispensable support of you, the patriots forging America's future, we shall achieve metallurgical self-sufficiency, unleash our latent energy, secure our national destiny, construct our nation anew, and assume complete dominion over our own fate. We will, in a manner hitherto unprecedented, reintegrate the sinews of Pennsylvania steel into the very vertebrae of the American republic."

Over the past few days, Trump, along with other U.S. officials, has begun to amplify the purported benefits of Nippon Steel's augmented $14 billion investment pledge – layered atop its extant $14.9 billion acquisition proposal – a commitment predicated, inter alia, on the construction of a greenfield electric arc furnace (EAF) steel mill in an as-yet-unspecified locale within the United States.

On Friday, he shared the platform with several United States Steel Corporation employees, amongst whom was Jason Zucco, Vice President of the United Steelworkers Local at the Irvin Plant. Zucco, whose father was rendered jobless years prior due to mill closures, had actively lobbied local dignitaries and members of Congress in support of the proposed agreement, predicated on his conviction that, absent its ratification, US Steel would ultimately shutter its Pittsburgh-area facilities.

During the address, Zugay remarked to Trump, "I knew you wouldn't let us down," characterizing Nippon Steel's projected $14 billion infusion into U.S. Steel production as a "transformative investment of epochal proportions."