by Kim Lyons, Pennsylvania Capital-Star
September 4, 2024

PITTSBURGH — President Joe Biden is preparing to block the sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel of Japan, the Washington Post reported Wednesday, and the company cast doubt on its future in Pittsburgh should the deal not go through.

Japan-based Nippon Steel proposed to buy 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 had not informed union leaders the deal was imminent.

U.S. Steel hosted a rally outside its headquarters in Downtown Pittsburgh on Wednesday, to show its support for the deal.

“Today’s rally is about displaying support for the transaction with Nippon Steel. We want elected leaders and other key decision makers to recognize the benefits of the deal as well as the unavoidable consequences if the deal fails,” U.S. Steel President and CEO David B. Burritt said in a statement.

The company said in a press release that without the Nippon transaction, U.S. Steel would “largely pivot away from its blast furnace facilities,” and that “the lack of a deal with Nippon Steel raises serious questions about U.S. Steel remaining headquartered in Pittsburgh.”

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), one of the loudest critics of the deal, blasted the company executives in a statement Wednesday.

“As I’ve always said, I will follow and stand with the United Steelworkers against the shameless executives looking for a golden parachute,” Fetterman said. “I’m calling bulls–t on the U.S. Steel executives, just like I did shortly after that first announcement.”

Fetterman lives across the street from U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thompson plant in Braddock. He and U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-17) had urged the Biden administration to block the sale. The lawmakers wrote a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen asking the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) to block the deal. While Japan is not a foreign adversary of the U.S., the lawmakers noted that Nippon does business and operates facilities in China.

Casey criticized Burritt in a statement Wednesday.

“David Burritt’s threats to pull U.S. Steel out of the community that built it shows a deep disrespect for the Steelworkers who keep the company moving every day,” Casey said. “For years, U.S. Steel’s corporate leadership has been refusing to invest in Southwestern Pennsylvania and the Steelworkers, and Mr. Burritt’s comments are yet another example of how he is willing to put livelihoods at stake if he does not get what he wants.”

Casey added that U.S. Steel’s union jobs in the Mon Valley “are vital to the region’s economy.”

Biden said in March it was “vital” for U.S. Steel to remain owned and operated by Americans, a stance he reiterated during an April campaign visit to the U.S. Steelworkers in Pittsburgh.

Former President Donald Trump, the GOP nominee for president, has also criticized the acquisition, and pledged to block it if he wins another term.

U.S. Steel shareholders voted to approve the sale to Nippon in April.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, told an audience of union workers on Monday that U.S. Steel should remain domestically owned and operated.

“The President mentioned it: U.S. Steel is an historic American company, and it is vital for our nation to maintain a strong American steel company,” Harris said.

This is a developing story that will be updated

Pennsylvania Capital-Star is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Pennsylvania Capital-Star maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kim Lyons for questions: info@penncapital-star.com. Follow Pennsylvania Capital-Star on Facebook and X.