The President's Golden Share in U.S. Steel
25 July 2025·28 min
LIVE SHOW ALERT: August 18th, NYC. Get your tickets here. When news broke that a Japanese company, Nippon Steel, was buying the storied American steel company…
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LIVE SHOW ALERT: August 18th, NYC. Get your tickets here.
When news broke that a Japanese company, Nippon Steel, was buying the storied American steel company U.S. Steel, it was still 2023, just before an election.
And right away, politicians from both sides of the aisle came out forcefully against the deal, saying the company should remain American. Before leaving office, President Biden even blocked the sale.
But in a dramatic twist a few weeks ago, President Trump approved it. With a caveat: the U.S. would get what Trump called 'a golden share' in U.S. Steel.
On our latest show: what even is a "golden share"? When has it been used before, and why? And, could deals like this be a good way to get foreign investment in American manufacturing...or is it government overreach?
Related episodes:
- When Uncle Sam owned banks and factories
- How Big Steel in the U.S. fell
This episode was produced by Willa Rubin and edited by Marianne McCune. Research help from Emily Crawford and Emma Peaslee. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Robert Rodriguez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.
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When news broke that a Japanese company, Nippon Steel, was buying the storied American steel company U.S. Steel, it was still 2023, just before an election.
And right away, politicians from both sides of the aisle came out forcefully against the deal, saying the company should remain American. Before leaving office, President Biden even blocked the sale.
But in a dramatic twist a few weeks ago, President Trump approved it. With a caveat: the U.S. would get what Trump called 'a golden share' in U.S. Steel.
On our latest show: what even is a "golden share"? When has it been used before, and why? And, could deals like this be a good way to get foreign investment in American manufacturing...or is it government overreach?
Related episodes:
- When Uncle Sam owned banks and factories
- How Big Steel in the U.S. fell
This episode was produced by Willa Rubin and edited by Marianne McCune. Research help from Emily Crawford and Emma Peaslee. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Robert Rodriguez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.
Support Planet Money, get bonus episodes, sponsor-free listening and now Summer School episodes one week early by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.
Listen free at these links: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.
Find more Planet Money: Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.
To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy
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