Nippon Steel reportedly negotiating directly with White House in quest to purchase U.S. Steel
Nippon Steel continues to push for presidential support of its proposed $14.9 billion purchase of U.S. Steel, despite concerns that such a deal could lower American steel production and create a national security threat.
Nippon Steel is now negotiating directly with the White House to save the imperiled takeover as President Joe Biden is due to make a final decision by Tuesday, according to a letter obtained by the Washington Post.
The Japanese steelmaker offered a 10-year guarantee to not reduce production capacity at U.S. Steel’s mills in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Alabama, Texas, California and Arkansas without approval from the federal agencies that vet foreign transactions for national security — essentially giving the U.S. government veto power over any steelmaking reductions.
The proposal comes after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States left the final decision to Biden last week. The federal panel — created to screen deals for national security risks and deliver a recommendation to the president — deadlocked over its review of the year-old proposed sale after it could not resolve concerns that Nippon’s acquisition could harm domestic production.
Richard Tikey, vice president of the USW local in Clairton, told the Post-Gazette he asked for a 10-year plan in meetings with union chief David McCall and Nippon executive Takahiro Mori, seeking the kind of staggered investment that “gives people light at the end of the table and job security.”
Biden has long opposed the deal, siding with United Steelworkers International President David McCall, even as many union members have come out in support of the deal.
Many experts in Washington believed Nippon could adequately address any national security concerns, but the latest salvo shows the Japanese company's firmest commitments to date.
Biden’s review of the promises could potentially push a final decision to the Trump administration, the Post reported, citing anonymous sources. Analysts and investors told the Post-Gazette on Tuesday it wasn’t immediately clear why the deliberations would need to last that long.
President-elect Donald Trump also opposes the deal and has vowed to block it as president.
Locally, though, support is stronger. U.S. Steel has warned that thousands of jobs could be lost if the deal falls through, and that the company may move its headquarters out of Pittsburgh.
Last week, a group of 20 local mayors from communities impacted by U.S. Steel’s presence wrote directly to Biden, singling out McCall for “his refusal to negotiate in good faith on this transaction,” according to a copy of the letter shared with the Post-Gazette.
“Each of us believes deeply in the importance of union labor, but USW leadership is currently playing games at a time when they should be listening to and acting on behalf of their members,” the mayors wrote. Signatories included mayors from Braddock, Glassport, Homestead, Clairton, Jefferson Hills, Munhall, Turtle Creek and other Mon Valley municipalities.
