by Kim Lyons, Capital of Pennsylvania-Star
September 4, 2024
PITTSBURGH — President Joe Biden is preparing to block the sale of US Steel to Japanese company Nippon Steel, The Washington Post reported on Wednesdayand the company questioned its future in Pittsburgh if the deal fell through.
Japan-based Nippon Steel proposed buying the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker last December in a deal valued at $14.9 billion. The deal immediately drew opposition from Pennsylvania lawmakers and the United Steelworkers union, which said the company failed to inform union leaders of the deal’s imminence.
On Wednesday, U.S. Steel held a rally outside its headquarters in downtown Pittsburgh to show support for the deal.
“Today’s rally is intended to show support for the Nippon Steel deal. We want elected leaders and other key decision-makers to see the benefits of the deal, as well as the inevitable consequences if it falls through,” said U.S. Steel’s chairman and CEO David B. Burritt said in a statement.
The company said in a press release that without the Nippon deal, U.S. Steel “will largely move away from its blast furnace operations” and that “the lack of a deal with Nippon Steel raises serious questions about whether U.S. Steel will continue to be headquartered in Pittsburgh.”
US Senator John Fetterman (D-Pa.), one of the most vocal critics of the deal, slammed company executives in a statement Wednesday.
“As I have always said, I will follow and stand with the United Steelworkers against the brazen executives who are looking for a golden parachute,” Fetterman said. “I am calling the executives of U.S. Steel out for crap, as I did shortly after the first announcement.”
Fetterman lives across the street from U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thompson plant in Braddock. He and US Senator Bob Casey AND US Representative Chris Deluzio (D-17) urged the Biden administration to block the sale. The lawmakers wrote letter to US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen asking the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to block the deal. While Japan is not a foreign adversary of the U.S., lawmakers noted that Nippon does business and operates facilities in China.
Casey criticized Burritt in a statement released Wednesday.
“David Burritt’s threats to pull U.S. Steel out of the community that built it show a profound disrespect for the Steelworkers who keep the company running every day,” Casey said. “For years, U.S. Steel’s corporate leadership has refused to invest in southwestern Pennsylvania and the Steelworkers, and Mr. Burritt’s comments are another example of how he is willing to risk his livelihood if he doesn’t get what he wants.”
Casey added that union jobs at U.S. Steel in the Mon Valley “are critical to the region’s economy.”
Biden said in March It was “essential” that U.S. Steel remain American-owned and operated, a point he reiterated during April Campaign Visit to US Steelworkers Plant in Pittsburgh.
Former president Donald TrumpRepublican presidential candidate also criticized the takeover and promised to block it if he wins another term.
American steel shareholders voted to approve sale to Nippon in April.
Vice President Kamala HarrisDemocratic presidential candidate told a crowd of union workers Monday that U.S. Steel should remain a domestic company and be governed by its own national board.
“The president made this point: U.S. Steel is a historic American company, and it’s critically important to our country that we maintain a strong American steel company,” Harris said.
This is a developing story that will be updated
Capital of Pennsylvania-Star is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) charitable organization. The Pennsylvania Capital-Star maintains editorial independence. For questions, contact editor Kim Lyons at info@penncapital-star.com. Follow the Pennsylvania Capital-Star on Facebook AND X.
