Japan's Nippon Steel sets sights on a growing overseas market in its bid to acquire US Steel

KASHIMA, Japan (AP) — The signs at Nippon Steel read: “The world through steel,” underlining why Japan’s top steelmaker is pursuing its $15 billion bid to acquire U.S. Steel.

“We can’t expect demand in Japan to grow as the population is declining. We need to invest in production that leads to growth,” a company official, Masato Suzuki, said Friday while giving reporters a look at a Nippon Steel plant in Ibaraki prefecture, north of Tokyo.

Nippon Steel Corp. has its eyes on India, Southeast Asia and the U.S., Suzuki said. About 70% of the plant's output is exported.

The Tokyo-based company remains optimistic, although the deal is opposed by President-elect Donald Trump, President Joe Biden and American steelworkers.

During the tour, slabs of steel, glowing hot-orange at more than 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,800 Fahrenheit), rolled through the cavernous plant to become giant spools of super-thin steel.

Nippon Steel officials didn’t disclose details of the fine technology they said the planned acquisition would offer U.S. Steel.

Under the proposed deal, first announced in 2023, U.S. Steel would keep its name and its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, becoming a subsidiary of Nippon Steel.

Nippon Steel already has manufacturing operations in the U.S. and Mexico, China and Southeast Asia. It supplies the world’s top automakers, including Toyota Motor Corp., and makes steel for railways, pipes, appliances and skyscrapers.

The American steel industry has waned as Chinese steelmakers have grown to dominate the market. Japan wants to leverage the decades-old U.S.-Japan security and political alliance to seal the acquisition, but the outlook is uncertain.

In September, an arbitration board jointly chosen by U.S. Steel and United Steelworkers decided the proposed acquisition could proceed.

But United Steelworkers union, which has 1.2 million members, have objected, citing worries about job losses and contract terms.

The union has questioned Nippon Steel’s plans to transfer production locations and concerns about national security and domestic supply chains.

When asked for comment, it referred to a recent letter to its members.

“As a union, our primary concern is the future of our jobs and the communities we live and work in — not just this year, but also for the foreseeable future. We’ve seen job losses in the past, and we must do everything we can to avoid it in the future,” said the letter, co-signed by Mike Millsap, chairman of the negotiating committee, and its international president, David McCall.

“While Japan is a political ally, it is also an economic competitor, one that has proven time and again that it is willing to promote its steel industry at our expense,” the union said.

Nippon Steel is promising to “preserve the legacy” of U.S. Steel and protect jobs, pensions and benefits, pledging that there will be no layoffs or plant closures.

The deal is expected to produce an economic boost for the region equivalent to nearly $1 billion in the first two years, create up to 5,000 construction jobs and generate almost $40 million in state and local taxes, according to Nippon Steel.

William W. Grimes, professor of international relations and political science at Boston University, said Nippon Steel's commitment to keeping the U.S. Steel factories running would help preserve U.S.-based production of specialty steels. Nippon Steel also has also promised investments to make the factories more competitive.

There is no militarily sensitive technology Nippon Steel would be able to take from the U.S., and the U.S. relies on steel produced in allied countries, including Japan, Grimes said.

“If Japanese companies do draw a lesson, it should be to engage unions and local politicians early in the process,” he said.

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A hot rolling mill at Nippon Steel's Kashima Plant in Kashima, Japan on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)

Exterior of Blast Furnace No. 1 at Nippon Steel's Kashima Plant in Kashima, Japan on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)

Exterior of Blast Furnace No. 1 at Nippon Steel's Kashima Plant in Kashima, Japan on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024 (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)

Logo of Nippon Steel on the exterior of Blast Furnace No. 1 at the company's Kashima Plant in Kashima, Japan on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)

A hot rolling mill at Nippon Steel's Kashima Plant in Kashima, Japan on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)

A Nippon Steel staff member, left, points in front of the company's Blast Furnace No. 1 at its Kashima Plant in Kashima, Japan on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)

A slab of steel on a hot rolling mill at Nippon Steel's Kashima Plant in Kashima, Japan on Friday, Dec.6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)

'Welcome to Nippon Steel' sign in front of Blast Furnace No. 1 at Nippon Steel's Kashima Plant in Kashima, Japan on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)

A staff enters doorway next to Nippon Steel logo at the company's Kashima Plant in Kashima, Japan on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)

FILE - This April 26, 2010, file photo shows the United States Steel logo outside the headquarters building in downtown Pittsburgh. President-elect Donald Trump is underscoring his intention to block the purchase of U.S. Steel by Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel Corp., and he’s pledging to use tax incentives and tariffs to strengthen the iconic American steelmaker. Trump said during the campaign that he would “instantaneously” block the deal, and he reiterated that sentiment in a Monday night statement.(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Cape Verde's magical start to its first World Cup isn't over. It might just be getting started.

The tiny island nation that stunned tournament favorite Spain last week did it again against Uruguay — a two-time World Cup champion — on Sunday, coming from behind for a 2-2 draw.

Kevin Pina scored on a free kick for Cape Verde's first-ever goal in the World Cup, and Helio Varela scored the equalizer for what has become one of the most surprising teams of the expanded 48-team tournament — a club now with a legitimate chance of getting into the knockout stage.

“This is something we owe to other smaller national teams,” Cape Verde coach Pedro Leitão Brito said through an interpreter. “Teams that struggled to qualify for a world tournament. We’re also here to show that a country may be small, may struggle financially, but if they are resilient, if they can endure struggle, they can also stand shoulder to shoulder with other major teams and with players who are on another level.”

The group of islands off Africa’s West coast have about 4,000 square meters (about 2.5 miles) of landmass and approximately a half million inhabitants, making Cape Verde the third-smallest nation by population to qualify for the World Cup.

Even as a large number of fans at Miami Stadium chanted for Uruguay throughout Sunday's match, Cape Verdean players seemed undaunted.

“Once you’re on the pitch, a lot of things become equal,” Leitão Brito said.

Cape Verdean fans who watched their squad pull off one of the stunners of the tournament last week by holding Spain to a scoreless draw continued their celebrations when Pina split Uruguay's wall and blasted a strike past diving goalie Fernando Muslera for a 1-0 lead in the 21st.

Maxi Araújo and Agustin Canobbio scored late first-half goals to put Uruguay ahead. But Varela, minutes after coming into the game in the second half, took advantage of a bad pass by Mathias Olivera and caught Muslera way off his line for a tying open-net goal and his first international score.

Varela celebrated by hopping into his teammates' arms and flexing atop their shoulders as Muslera and other Uruguay players dropped their heads in disappointment.

“The result, I think, was quite deserved,” coach Marcelo Bielsa said afterward through an interpreter.

It was Uruguay's second draw after a 1-1 finish against Saudi Arabia in their opener. La Celeste face Spain in their group stage finale, with an uphill climb to reach the knockout stage after failing to capitalize on several late chances to take the lead.

“The organizational mistakes that were made — that a squad makes — they always fall upon the driver,” Bielsa added. “What I mean by that is the head coach. ... There is no magical recipe whatsoever to fix them. It goes without saying we paid a very high cost for those mistakes.”

It was another special moment for Cape Verde's Vozinha, who became one of the tournament's breakout stars after shutting down Spain. The 40-year-old goalie had his mother in the stands for Sunday's match; she was unable to attend Cape Verde’s opening draw against Spain because she couldn’t obtain a visa.

It was also the first World Cup match with two starting goalies aged 40-plus. Muslera, who made his 18th World Cup appearance, turned 40 on June 16.

Vozinha waved at the crowd after the final whistle as his teammates ran to a section of Cape Verdean fans, who cheered and danced on their way out of the stadium as if they were celebrating a victory.

“You show up, you believe, and we work very hard as a team,” said Cape Verde defender Stopira. “I think all the world can see we play, we play very good, and we also have quality in the team. So now it’s on to the next game, and to try to reach the next one.”

AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup

Cape Verde's Helio Varela controls the ball before scoring his side's second goal against Uruguay during the World Cup Group H soccer match in Miami Gardens, Fla., Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Uruguay's Maxi Araujo, (20) scores his side's opening goal during the World Cup Group H soccer match against Cape Verde in Miami Gardens, Fla., Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Cape Verde's Helio Varela, top, celebrates scoring his side's second goal against Uruguay during the World Cup Group H soccer match in Miami Gardens, Fla., Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Cape Verde's Kevin Pina, second right, scores his team's first goalduring the World Cup Group H soccer match between Uruguay and Cape Verde in Miami Gardens, Fla., Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Cape Verde's Kevin Pina, left, celebrates with teammates after scoring his team's first goal during the World Cup Group H soccer match between Uruguay and Cape Verde in Miami Gardens, Fla., Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Cape Verde's Kevin Pina, center, celebrates with teammates after scoring the opening goal during the World Cup Group H soccer match between Uruguay and Cape Verde in Miami Gardens, Fla., Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)