US Steel Košice could change ownership in the near future. The firm, which employs over 10,000 people in the east of Slovakia, has been contemplating a departure from Slovakia for some time. US Steel sought a sale of its Košice steelworks site in the fourth quarter 2016 but Chinese, Czech and Russian potential buyers refused to pay the price requested, citing the low prices of steel as the reason.
After the EU imposed customs on Chinese steel, however, the price of many steel products has started to rise and thus the price of Košice steelworks may also increase to a level where a deal is possible. Additionally, with changes in corporate tax reliefs being promoted by Donald Trump, US Steel may focus its strategy for growth within the US borders. Trump promised to reduce the corporate tax in the US from the current 35 percent to 15 percent, and to stop new and abolish old red tape burdening the firms. He also plans to impose a corporate tax of 41 percent on US companies operating abroad and impose customs on products imported to the US.