PITTSBURGH — President Donald Trump on Friday announced he would increase tariffs on steel imports and also revealed some details of the “planned partnership” between U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel.

At a rally at U.S. Steel’s Irvin Works in West Mifflin, Trump — who was greeted by chants of “U.S.A.” when he took the stage at 5:45 p.m. — said the increase in tariffs would create a fairer trading environment between the United States and the rest of the world.

The tariff on steel imports would rise from 25% to 50%. The president did not indicate when that would become effective, but he suggested it might have been a last-minute decision and that he consulted with steel workers.

“I said to the group, would you rather have a 40% increase? Because I was thinking of 40% when I came. They said, ‘We’ll take 50%.’”

“I said, ‘I had a feeling you were going to say that,’” Trump said.

He said 50% tariffs make Nippon’s deal for U.S. Steel even more attractive.

“You just made a better deal, right?” he said.

"At 25%, they can sort of get over that fence," the president said. "At 50%, they can no longer get over that fence."

‘Make trade fair again’

Trump went on to reveal a few details of Nippon’s planned investment. He said there would be $2.2 billion in investments in the Mon Valley, $200 million for an advanced tech research and development center in Pennsylvania, and $7 billion in investments for modernized steel mills in Indiana, Arkansas, Minnesota and Alabama.

He also said there would be no layoffs and that “every U.S. Steel worker” would get a $5,000 bonus, which Nippon had previously promised to workers in the Mon Valley.

Steelworkers, many of whom said they support the deal because it ensures job security and billions of dollars in investments and upgrades in existing facilities, cheered for the president as he took the stage.

Trump’s appearance followed speeches from local union leaders and U.S. Steel workers, as well as Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel officials.

One after another, they said the “planned partnership” between U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel would add much-needed investment, better equipment and a certain future for the thousands of workers in the Mon Valley.

U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Butler, said the president is cementing a culture of winning when it comes to business and job creation. U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Luzerne, said the agreement ensures the identity and legacy of the company remains American.

"I know many of you are Pittsburgh Steelers fans, but today we are all U.S. Steel fans," Meuser said.

U.S. Steel President David B. Burritt and Takahiro Mori, vice chairman and executive Vice President of Nippon Steel, addressed attendees earlier in the day.

They did not offer any new details about the new agreement, but both commended Trump. Steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie lit a spark many years ago, and U.S. Steel workers have kept it lit for generations since, Burritt said.

Mori said the partnership will make trade fair again, a play on Trump's campaign slogan.

"U.S. Steel will remain mined, melted and made by Americans," he said.

Unrelated to the deal, Trump was made an honorary Pittsburgh Steeler by Black and Gold legend Rocky Bleier during his appearance.

"The city of Pittsburgh used to produce more steel than entire countries produced," the president said, before saying that more than 100,000 jobs melted away, "like butter," because of poor decisions made in Washington, D.C.

"If you don't have steel, you can't have a country," he said.

Steelworkers’ concerns

Leadership in several local unions also said the deal was a difference-maker for the future of U.S. Steel.

Many said they had parents, husbands and other family members spanning generations in the steel mills in the Mon Valley.

Andrew Macey, who has 44 years of service with U.S. Steel and is a member of USW Local 1557, said his girlfriend wanted him to retire in recent years — but that he loved what the company represents, so he decided to stay on.

"I'm only one voice of many, but coming together with many voices ... we were loud," Macey said at the rally. “Thank you, President Trump, for hearing us.”

The United Steelworkers union, which represents about 11,000 employees at U.S. Steel facilities, has long opposed the deal — and in a statement issued Wednesday, it appears little has changed among union leadership.

“We have received calls and messages from many of our members and local union leaders who do not support the merger asking what the rumored ‘partnership’ means,” the union said. “At this time, we cannot say whether the ‘planned partnership’ described in Friday’s message on Truth Social or news reports since then represents any meaningful change from the merger proposed in 2023, under which Nippon Steel would acquire U.S. Steel and make it a wholly owned subsidiary.

“Our core concerns about Nippon Steel — a foreign-owned corporation with a documented history of violating U.S. trade laws — remain as strong and valid today as ever, and that is so whether U.S. Steel and Nippon adhere to the same deal that they have pursued since December 2023 or whether they tweak the terms to satisfy concerns in Washington.”

Trump had announced the “planned partnership” between U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel via a Truth Social post on May 23.

But specifics remained unclear.

Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, a fellow Republican, said Tuesday that the deal would include a “golden share,” indicating that the U.S. would have control over a majority of the board that oversees the company. McCormick did not speak at the rally.

That’s not different, however, from the proposed merger that was on the table between the two steelmakers, first proposed in December, 2923 and valued then at $14.9 billion.

Nippon has since pledged up to $14 billion in multiple investments — $11 billion over three years in existing facilities, plus $1 billion to start developing a new electric arc furnace, and potentially a total of $3 billion to expand it.

Attendees who packed the large hall of U.S. Steel's Irvin Works plant held signs reading "Thank You President Trump!" that also included the U.S. Steel logo and American flag. Classic rock music blared through speakers in the hours before Trump arrived at the plant, a hallmark of his rallies.

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(Pittsburgh Post-Gazette staff writers Madaleine Rubin and Anya Litvak contributed.)

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