Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, says she opposes a Japanese company’s proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel, which potentially could bring hundreds of millions of dollars to the Gary Works facility.
At a Labor Day campaign event in Pittsburgh, Harris said U.S. Steel should remain domestically owned. The White House has opposed the acquisition for months, according to the Associated Press.
“U.S. Steel should remain American-owned and American-operated, and I will always have the backs of American steelworkers,” Harris said.
The decision on the pending acquisition will be made at the federal level, Gary Mayor Eddie Melton said in a Tuesday statement, but every decision will have a direct impact on the city.
In December, it was announced that Nippon Steel would acquire the American company, according to U.S. Steel’s website. Nippon Steel plans to invest about $300 million into the local Gary Works facility, which will be invested into the blast furnace, allowing for higher steel production and to reduce emissions, Melton said in a statement.
He also said the investment should extend the Gary Works’ furnace’s life by up to 20 years.
Melton supports Harris’ campaign for president, he said, and agrees with her commitment to preserving the middle class, union jobs in communities and believes it’s important to maintain American industries.
“I believe that our community deserves to be prioritized and protected from further economic and environmental harm,” Melton said. “As mayor, I will continue to advocate for our community to ensure our citizens are not overlooked or furthered burdened by the impacts of historical divestment.”
The deal between the two steel companies hasn’t officially closed, but U.S. Steel expects it to be official in the second half of the year.
“U.S. Steel will be a much stronger company as a result of the transaction with Nippon Steel, and the American steel industry will be more globally competitive,” said a statement from U.S. Steel.
The United Steelworkers and U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, have been critical of the deal as well.
“Since day one, I have stood with labor and voted to support transformational federal investments in the American steel industry, and now that we are poised for robust growth in the coming months and years from these actions, we must not allow foreign ownership of U.S. Steel to jeopardize the strength of our economy, our national security, and the livelihoods of steel-producing communities throughout our nation,” Mrvan said in a December statement.
The company said Nippon Steel plans to invest nearly $3 billion into its union-represented facilities, calling the investment “truly transformative.” In Pennsylvania, U.S. Steel has about 4,000 employees.
The company employs about 4,500 steelworkers at both Gary Works and its Midwest Plant in Portage. U.S. Steel had more than 20,000 employees at the end of 2023.
President Joe Biden has said since March that he opposes the acquisition, according to the Associated Press. At Monday’s campaign event, he repeated that, believing the deal will hurt the American steelworkers.
“U.S. Steel has been an iconic American steel company for more than a century, and it is vital for it to remain an American steel company that is domestically owned and operated,” Biden said in a March statement.
Nippon Steel’s investment will benefit steelworkers in Northwest Indiana, the environment and Gary citizens, Melton said in a statement.
“As a child of a steelworker, I want to make sure the current steelworker’s contract was honored,” he said, “and that Gary remained a priority among the other plants across the United States.”
Post-Tribune archives contributed.
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