US President Donald Trump appears set to approve what he calls a planned partnership between US Steel and Japan's Nippon Steel. He said the deal would create at least 70,000 jobs and add $14 billion to the US economy.
Trump described the planned partnership as the largest investment in the history of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He said his tariff policies will ensure that steel will once again be forever made in America. The Japanese steelmaker's plan to acquire US Steel was blocked in January by then-President Joe Biden on national security grounds. Trump had earlier welcomed more investment by Nippon Steel, but expressed reservations about the Japanese company's plan to make US Steel a subsidiary. Despite the latest post, it remains unclear whether the president will approve the buyout plan, as an official announcement has yet to be made. Nippon Steel issued a comment after Trump's post acknowledging his decision to approve the partnership between Nippon Steel and US Steel. The firm said its proposal is in line with the Trump administration's commitment to protect American workers, the US steel industry and national security.
Japan's top tariff negotiator has met with US officials for a third round of talks. They agreed to continue close consultations at a high level, and they're eyeing possible discussions between their leaders at next month's G7 summit in Canada.
Economic Revitalization Minister Akazawa Ryosei says the talks on Friday were encouraging.
We were able to engage in more in-depth discussions than in the previous round.
He says negotiations must proceed with urgency, but not haste. He cited the need to protect Japan's national interests and says reaching a quick agreement is not the only goal. The talks included US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamison Greer.
Akazawa says he strongly reiterated his request that they review the tariff measures imposed by Trump, and he gave them his views on expanding trade and cooperating on economic security.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was absent from the talks. Akazawa says he hopes to hold more discussions that include him as soon as possible.
The Trump Administration has moved to ease sanctions on Syria. The decision marks a major shift in US policy toward the Middle Eastern country.
The Treasury Department issued a general license that allows new investment in transactions with Syria's transitional government. The decision comes about a week after Trump's visit to the Middle East, where he met with Syrian interim President Ahmed al Sharrah.
Trump said he would order the removal of sanctions. Syria's interim government is working to rebuild the country after the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime late last year following a long civil war.
Authoritarian rule by two generations of the Assad family spanned over half a century. Syria's interim foreign ministry welcomed the US move, calling it a positive step in the right direction to alleviate the country's humanitarian and economic suffering.
Trump has signed executive orders for reform of the country's nuclear industry.
The administration says it will reduce regulatory barriers, and speed up construction of nuclear reactors. The reforms will make it easier for the authorities to approve new nuclear power plant construction. Approvals have usually taken more than 10 years, but Washington has set an 18 month deadline for the final decision. The action aims to prepare for a surge in electricity demand due to growing use of AI and other technologies, including quantum computers, but the administration also has something else in mind.
President Trump here today has committed to energy dominance. And part of that energy dominance is that we've got enough electricity to win the AI arms race with China.
The United States and Iran have expressed the view that the two sides made some progress in a fifth round of talks on Iran's nuclear development program.
The high-level talks took place in Rome on Friday. US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aramshi led the delegations. Ahead of the talks, Witkoff told a US media outlet on Sunday that enrichment was one very, very clear red line for his delegation. Witkoff said the delegation could not allow Iran to have an enrichment capability of even 1%. He called on Iran to completely halt its uranium enrichment activities.
Arakchi pushed back strongly on social media on Friday. He warned that Iran would not hesitate to walk away from the talks if the US side demanded a complete halt to the activities.
Arakchi said after the fifth round of talks that the US side had developed a better and clearer understanding of Iran's position.
The negotiations are more complex and something that can be resolved in just two or three meetings. The fact that we are now on a reasonable path, in my view, is itself a sign of progress.
A senior US official also said the talks continue to be constructive and that the negotiations made further progress. But it remains unclear to what extent the US and Iran have narrowed their gap over Iran's uranium enrichment. Both sides are now coordinating the next round of talks, with Oman acting as mediator in an effort to bridge their differences.
The race for South Korea's presidency is heating up. The latest opinion poll shows the gap between the two leading candidates has narrowed sharply ahead of the election early next month.
The Gallup Korea poll released on Friday says Lee Jae-Myung of the largest opposition Democratic Party is backed by 45% of respondents.
He's followed by Kim Moon-soo of the ruling People Power Party with 36%. The gap between Lee and Kim has narrowed from 22 percentage points to just 9.
Now, the PPP wants third-placed candidate Lee Jun-seok of the Minor Reform Party to merge their candidacies. Lee has a support rate of 10%, up two points, but he insists he will not drop out. The election is slated for June 3.
Those were the main stories for this hour.
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That's the news this hour. I'm Gene Otani. From all of us here at NHK Newsline to all around the world, thanks very much for joining us.
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