TOKYO (Reuters) -The U.S. administration’s policy shift to introduce high tariffs will increase the strategic importance of Nippon Steel’s business development in the U.S. market, the top Japanese steelmaker’s CEO, Eiji Hashimoto, said on Thursday.
Hashimoto was speaking at a press conference in Tokyo a day after Nippon Steel closed its $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel, confirming an unusual degree of power for President Donald Trump after the Japanese company’s 18-month struggle to close the purchase.
The companies also disclosed details of a national security agreement inked with the Trump administration, which gives the president the authority to name a board member as well as a non-economic golden share.
The measures represent an unusual level of control conceded by the companies to the government to save the deal, after a rocky path to approval spurred by high-level political opposition.
(Reporting by Yuka ObayashiEditing by Chang-Ran Kim)
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