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The stories that matter on money and politics in the race for the White House
US Steel has warned that thousands of jobs are “at risk” in the election battleground state of Pennsylvania if Nippon Steel’s proposed acquisition of the firm — a deal opposed by Kamala Harris and Donald Trump — fails.
The Pittsburgh-based group said it would be forced to “largely pivot away from its blast furnace facilities” if the Japanese company’s proposed $14.9bn acquisition did not proceed.
The warning comes as the iconic steelmaker emerges as an election issue that has set the two companies against US politicians and labour unions.
During a visit to Pennsylvania on Monday, Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, said US Steel should remain “American owned and American operated”, echoing President Joe Biden’s earlier stance, in an effort to bolster union support.
Trump, the Republican nominee, said that he would “immediately” block the deal if he wins.
US Steel will hold a rally at its headquarters in Pittsburgh on Wednesday to send a message about the importance of the deal to politicians, including House and Senate lawmakers from Pennsylvania who have also opposed it.
“Today’s rally is about displaying support for the transaction with Nippon Steel,” said David Burritt, chief executive of US Steel. “We want elected leaders and other key decision makers to recognise the benefits of the deal as well as the unavoidable consequences if the deal fails.”
The United Steelworkers union slammed the statement from Burritt, accusing him of being “greedy” and “reckless”.
“Up until now, Burritt has described USS as a world-class steel company, but now he is making baseless and unlawful threats, saying if the transaction with Nippon is rejected, the future of US Steel as a viable steel company is at risk,” said USW president David McCall. “His reckless statements and mismanagement are the only true obstacle to US Steel remaining a sustainable steel company.”
Pennsylvania is one of the battleground states that could decide this November’s election. Harris has an edge of 0.5 percentage points over Trump in the state, according to the Financial Times’ polling tracker. Both candidates are stepping up their campaigning in the state, where 19 electoral college votes are on the line.
In western Pennsylvania, one of the most prominent US industrial hubs, Harris and Trump have courted blue-collar and union votes with protectionist messages.
Pittsburgh is so critical for Harris that she is going there on Thursday ahead of her debate against Trump next week in Philadelphia, in the state’s east.
Nippon Steel in December said it would buy US Steel, in what would be the Japanese group’s biggest acquisition. It has submitted the deal to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (Cfius), the US government inter-agency panel that vets inbound deals for national security threats.
Biden previously described the deal as a national security threat, in a move that angered Japan, the US’s most important ally in the Indo-Pacific, and raised eyebrows among some of his own officials who privately concede that his opposition to the deal is based on political considerations.
US Steel shareholders approved the deal earlier this year. The transaction has largely escaped regulatory scrutiny outside the US, and has won clearance from the EU. In addition to the Cfius review, the US justice department has opened an antitrust investigation into the proposed acquisition.
Nippon Steel has hired Mike Pompeo, Trump’s former secretary of state and CIA director, to lobby for the deal.
US Steel has been a symbol of American manufacturing since its creation in 1901 after John Pierpont Morgan bought a steel group from Andrew Carnegie and merged it with rivals to form the iconic manufacturer.
Additional reporting by Zehra Munir in New York
