The White House says it intervened to block a decision to stop processing raw steel at U.S. Steel’s Granite City Works plant in Illinois. In a statement, the White House said Monday that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick delivered the message that President Donald Trump would exercise his so-called “golden share” power. That provision was a key element in the Trump administration’s decision to allow Japan-based Nippon Steel to buy out U.S. Steel. It gives the federal government a say in certain decisions involving domestic steel production. Earlier this month, U.S. Steel said it would stop processing steel slabs at its Granite City Works. On Friday, U.S. Steel reversed course.

U.S. Steel is reversing course and now says it'll continue processing raw steel indefinitely at its Granite City Works plant in Illinois, nixing a decision that had put the plant on track to stop work in the coming weeks. U.S. Steel on Friday didn't explain its reasons for changing course, other than it'll maintain flexibility. It's now barely three months after Nippon Steel sealed a deal with President Donald Trump to buy the iconic American steelmaker by giving the government a say over decisions that affect domestic steel production. The United Steelworkers union accused U.S. Steel of trying to “wiggle out” of commitments that Nippon Steel made in the deal.

U.S. Steel will stop processing steel slabs at its Granite City Works plant in Illinois, three months after Nippon Steel sealed a deal with President Donald Trump to buy the iconic American steelmaker. In a statement, the Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel said Tuesday that it'll “optimize” its operations by focusing on processing raw steel at facilities in Pennsylvania and Indiana. It'll end its production work at Granite City Works, likely in November, but it says it'll keep paying the 800 workers there. They'll keep their jobs at least until 2027, as a result of a national security agreement between Trump and Nippon Steel that allowed its buyout of U.S. Steel to go forward.