ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE/TOKYO (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday said he doesn't think a foreign company should control U.S. Steel, repeating comments made last week that dimmed hopes for the $15 billion bid by Japan's Nippon Steel ( NISTF ) to buy the U.S. firm.

Trump said on Wednesday he did not want to see U.S. Steel "go to Japan," sending its shares down 7%. The two companies later said they were working closely with the Trump administration to "secure a significant investment."

Trump spoke with reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned to Washington from his estate in Florida.

Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba discussed the deal during their meeting in February, the latter said on Monday in a parliament session in Tokyo.

"The difference between acquisition and investment must be carefully examined in light of the U.S. law, but there must surely be a point where it (U.S. Steel) remains as an American company, and where Japanese interests can also be realized," Ishiba said.

The original deal for Nippon to buy U.S. Steel, which was announced in December 2023, has faced headwinds from the start.

Both former President Joe Biden and Trump last year asserted that U.S. Steel should remain American-owned as they sought to win over voters in the swing state of Pennsylvania, where the company is headquartered, during a hotly contested election.

In January 2025, Biden blocked the transaction on national security grounds. But the parties quickly sued, alleging they were denied a fair national security review, because Biden had prejudiced the process with his public opposition to the deal in a bid to win reelection.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason; additional reporting by Kantaro Komiya in Tokyo; Writing by Andrea Shalal and Katya Golubkova; Editing by Tom Hogue and Saad Sayeed)