Trump Backing for a Nippon Steel Deal Leaves Big Questions (3)

After more than 17 months of lobbying and close-fought negotiations to secure control of United States Steel Corp., Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. appeared on Friday to have received a presidential blessing.

Days later, however, investors, executives and diplomats are still unsure of what exactly the US president endorsed.

Donald Trump heralded a “planned partnership” between the two industrial heavyweights, claiming it would create “at least 70,000 jobs” — roughly five times US Steel’s current American employees — and add $14 billion to the US economy. But his unexpected announcement stopped short of explicitly endorsing Nippon Steel’s proposed $14.1 billion ...