Nippon Steel, which the Trump administration says is now looking at an investment in U.S. Steel rather than an outright purchase, has a long history of joint ventures with other steelmakers, including in northern Indiana.
President Donald Trump said he would he meet with the head of Nippon Steel to negotiate a new deal in which the Japanese steelmaker would invest in U.S. Steel and share its technology without outright owning the American company.

Nippon Steel has partnered with U.S., Japanese and other steelmakers in alliances in which it has owned a stake but not a controlling majority for nearly a half century. Joint ventures, which Nippon Steel describes as alliances, involve the sharing of resources like capital and technology, which the administration says Nippon Steel is now poised to do with U.S. Steel.

It partnered in operating steel mills in northern Indiana for more than three decades. In 1990, it partnered with Inland Steel in East Chicago to develop the I/N Tek & I/N Kote finishing lines in New Carlisle.

Nippon Steel owned a 40% share on I/N Tek, which processed cold rolled steel sheets that were shipped there by train from the East Chicago steel mill. It owned a 50% share of I/N Kote, which processed coated steel sheets.

It continued to operate the finishing facilities with ArcelorMittal after it absorbed Inland Steel until it ended up selling I/N Tek & I/N Kote to Cleveland-Cliffs in late 2020. They partnered on a new hot-dip galvanizing line for automotive sheets at I/N Kote and a new hot-dip galvanizing line at I/N Kote.

Nippon Steel also partnered with ArcelorMittal on Usinor automotive sheet steel, on acquisition of Essar Steel India Limited to create AM/NS India Limited and on the purchase of ThyssenKrupp Steel USA to establish AM/NS Calvert in Alabama. It plans to divest its stake in that electric arc furnace-based mini-mill if the purchase of U.S. Steel goes through.

Neither U.S. Steel nor Nippon Steel have commented on how an investment would shape up.

Trump said at a press conference Friday said Nippon Steel would no longer own U.S. Steel and run it as a U.S. subsidiary based in Pittsburgh.

"They'll be looking at an investment rather than a purchase. We didn't – like the idea of US Steel is a very important company to us. It was the greatest company in the world for 15 years, many years ago, 80 years ago," he said, according to a White House transcript. "And we didn't want to see that leave. Um, and it wouldn't actually leave, but the concept is psychologically not good. So they've agreed to invest heavily in US Steel as opposed to own it."

Nippon Steel has partnered with a number of other steelmakers and other companies over the years, including Sumitomo Metals, Kobe Steel, Sumikin Welding and Sumikin Stainless Steel Corp. It for instance teamed up with Kobe Steel to integrate their plate fusion-cutting business and establish Nittetsu Shinko Shearing in 2003. It reached a similar agreement with SMI that year to integrate their stainless-steel business as Nippon Steel & Sumikin Stainless Steel Corp.

In 2005, it partnered with NSC, SMI, Sumitomo Pipe & Tube Co., Ltd., and Sumitomo Corporation to start the Guangzhou You-Ri Automotive Parts Co., Ltd. automotive steel tube business in China.

Nippon Steel has engaged in a number of different types of alliances with other steelmakers, including mutually buying shares, commission production and utilizing infrastructure. In 1976, it allied with Vallourec Group to make steel for seamless pipe joints, which they went on to manufacturer together in the United States, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and China.

U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel have until June 18th to complete a deal, which is now tied up in court after the Biden administration blocked it. The Cleveland-based activist shareholder group Ancora is calling for the U.S. Steel board of directors calling on them to put a halt to the deal and collect Nippon Steel's $565 million termination fee. The group is looking to oust CEO David Burritt, replace him with steel industry veteran Alan Kestenbaum and pursue a multibillion-dollar capital campaign to revitalize the company.

"The sale to Nippon is dead," Ancora Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Fredrick D. DiSanto and President James Chadwick said in the letter. "President Trump’s remarks on Friday should confirm – once and for all – that the sale has no chance of being resurrected. We applaud his steadfast commitments to protecting U.S. Steel and reviving America’s industrial and manufacturing industries. The Board now must decide if it stands with shareholders or if it still stands with failed Chief Executive Officer David Burritt, who appears to have driven the company off a cliff in pursuit of his $72 million transaction-related payday."

It called for the board to stop spending money to salvage the deal, to invest in blast furnaces at Mon Valley and Gary Works and to bring in Kestenbaum, who oversaw a turnaround at Stelco.

"If you opt to continue ignoring us and narrowly focus on what we expect to be elusive investments from Nippon, we will assume you are aligned with Mr. Burritt. Under this scenario, we will take all necessary actions to break the company’s culture of entrenchment and prevent the wasting of shareholders’ capital," they said in the latter. "Long-term investors do not want any more of their money wasted simply because Mr. Burritt and his arbitrageur friends hold losing lottery tickets."
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