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Update 6:30pm: Adds Harris comments.
Vice President Kamala Harris said that US Steel (NYSE:X) should remain domestically owned and operated during a visit to Pittsburgh on Monday, a potential issue for Nippon Steel’s (OTCPK:NISTF) planned $14 billion deal.
Harris made the comments at a Labor Day union event in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is the headquarters of US Steel (X) and United Steelworkers union, which has loudly voiced its opposition to the deal.
“US Steel is a historic American company, and it is vital for our nation to maintain sustain strong American steel companies, Harris said at the event in Pittsburgh on Monday evening. “And I couldn’t agree more with President Biden. US Steel should remain American owned and American operated. And I will always have the back of America’s steelworkers.”
President Joe Biden has for months said he’s against the $14 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel (X), though he hasn’t outright called for the transaction to be blocked.
The Harris comments appear to come in contrast to her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who reportedly in June told a top Nippon Steel (OTCPK:NISTF) official that he supported the transaction. The comments came before Walz became the running mate of Harris.
“We remain committed to the transaction with Nippon Steel, which is the best deal for our employees, shareholders, communities, and customers,” a US Steel spokesperson told Seeking Alpha in a statement. “The partnership with Nippon Steel, a long-standing investor in the United States from our close ally Japan, will strengthen the American steel industry, American jobs, and American supply chains, and enhance the U.S. steel industry’s competitiveness and resilience against China. In Pennsylvania alone, U. S. Steel employs nearly four thousand hard working men and women – this is the best deal for them and the communities where they live.”
Harris is the not on the presidential candidate to oppose the mega steel deal. Former President Donald Trump last month reiterated that he would block the deal if he gets the top job in the U.S.
“I will stop Japan from buying United States Steel,” Trump said at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania last month. “They shouldn’t be allowed to buy it. We have to make it work. We have to make it work. You don’t want to sell US Steel.”
The Harris comments in Pittsburgh come only days after Nippon Steel (OTCPK:NISTF) unveiled additional project investments to be made at US Steel’s (X) Mon Valley Works and Gary Works facilities, pledging $1.3 billion in investments for US Steel plants.
“Nippon Steel’s announcement of its plan to invest approximately $1.3 billion in U. S. Steel union-represented facilities, on top of the $1.4 billion capital commitment they previously announced, is further evidence of its unwavering commitment to U. S. Steel and all of our stakeholders,” US Steel CEO David B. Burritt said in a statement on Monday.
