Nobody likes to change their mind, but great leaders know that fluid situations require observing evidence on the ground to make the best decisions.
That’s why President Donald Trump should change his recently reiterated opposition to Nippon Steel’s purchase of U.S. Steel, and approve the deal’s $21 billion investment in the American economy.
During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump favored Cleveland-Cliffs’ domestic purchase of U.S. Steel. He had reasonable national security concerns and wanted to protect steel as a key source of jobs and economic independence.
On Thursday, however, Cleveland-Cliffs showed further signs of financial weakness when announcing that it will indefinitely table plans to reopen a shuttered Tin Plate facility in Weirton, West Virginia, in part due to financial issues and uncertainty surrounding tariffs. Last February, that facility employed 1,000 people. Today and for the foreseeable future, only 20 employees will work there.
The Tin Plate facility announcement is the latest in a string of depressing news from the floundering company. Over the past six weeks, Cleveland-Cliffs announced nearly 2,000 layoffs across its plants in Michigan, Minnesota and Pennsylvania. The company is also expected to lose $575 million in Biden-era climate grants to upgrade its blast furnaces with hydrogen-powered energy.
A purchase by Cleveland-Cliffs won’t bring the economic benefits Trump seeks. Layoffs are a sign that management can’t provide job security or upgrade the industry’s infrastructure. Cleveland-Cliffs should not be considered a contender for making U.S. Steel strong again.
By contrast, Nippon Steel is in a strong fiscal position to purchase U.S. Steel. They originally offered nearly $15 billion to buy the company in 2023. Last year and again in 2025, they sweetened the deal, offering more than $20 billion, including $1.3 billion to upgrade aging plants in Indiana and Pennsylvania, $5,000 payouts to all U.S. Steel employees upon completion of the deal, and billions more in other investments that can strengthen America’s economic security in the Rust Belt.
An increase in Nippon Steel’s American presence also improves manufacturing capabilities while avoiding tariffs that increase consumer costs. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is keen to make trade deals with Trump, and the Nippon deal would help a key company save billions of dollars in tariffs while gaining access to one of the world’s most important steel markets. This would show other companies and nations what can happen when all parties appreciate the art of the deal with America, and would help our ally Japan outflank China.
Great leaders understand the need to pivot when new evidence on the ground prompts a change. Abraham Lincoln famously rotated senior commanding generals during the U.S. Civil War. He then decided that Ulysses S. Grant should lead the entire Union army. Lincoln was thoughtful and decisive in reacting to information in the field.
President Trump is well-known for his desire to make deals that move America forward. He should greenlight Nippon Steel’s purchase of U.S. Steel, based on Cleveland-Cliffs’ financial challenges and the advantageous trade landscape he’s created.
It would be an important political and economic victory. And another sign of this president’s world-class leadership.
A leadership professor at The Catholic University of America, Jack Yoest is a former Army Captain, a corporate management consultant, and author of “The Memo: How the Classified Military Document That Helped the U.S. Win WWII Can Help You Succeed in Business
This article was originally published at www.thecentersquare.com
