Cliffs CEO Rips ‘Evil’ Japan and Lays Out New Plan for US Steel

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.’s pugnacious chief executive kept silent through Nippon Steel Corp.’s failed efforts to close a $14.1 billion takeover of United States Steel Corp. over recent weeks. But he returned to form Monday with a bombastic press conference, calling Japan “evil” as he outlined a plan to mount another bid for the American heavyweight.

Lourenco Goncalves used a sometimes rambling, nearly two-hour event to take a victory lap after the Japanese steelmaker’s attempt to buy its US peer was blocked on national security grounds. Flanked by more than half a dozen American flags at one of Cliffs’ Pennsylvania mills, ...