Just when U.S. Steel thought the ink had dried on its new future with Japan’s Nippon Steel, the company ran into a political reality check: President Donald Trump’s administration and its new “golden share” authority.

The golden share—essentially a veto power over certain corporate moves—was a condition for White House approval of Nippon Steel’s $14.1 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel in June. The president used this power to halt a planned plant shutdown in Granite City, Ill., The Wall Street Journal first reported on Friday.

Two weeks ago, U.S. Steel notified the Granite City plant and its 800 workers that operations would cease in November. The company planned to pay the employees, despite closing steel production.

But Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick learned of the plan and c

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