The head of Nippon Steel said he sees support in Rust Belt communities for the Japanese company's proposed $15 billion takeover of US Steel — a deal opposed by both President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump.
Tadashi Imai told reporters on Wednesday that his company has made an effort to calm skeptics who say a planned acquisition of the Pittsburgh-based steel giant would pose national security risks.
Reuters quoted Imai as saying: “In the communities of the different regions where the steel plants are located, there is a great deal of support for this acquisition.”
“I hope that President Biden … understands the value of this acquisition to the American economy.”
Imai's comments followed a decision by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) on Monday to refer the decision on whether to approve or reject the deal to Biden, who has 15 days to decide.
Trump had previously expressed his opposition to the purchase.
Also on Wednesday, Nippon Steel shared a letter to Biden dated December 23 and signed by more than two dozen US municipal officials in areas where US steel mills are located, asking the president to approve the takeover.
“We respectfully urge you to listen to the voices of steelworkers and everyone else whose economic security is tied to US Steel – they are speaking loudly in unison about the necessity of approving this deal,” the letter said.
US Steel warned that failure to merge with Nippon Steel would put thousands of union jobs at risk and indicated it would close some steel plants and possibly move its headquarters outside the politically important state of Pennsylvania.
“Nippon Steel is committed to keeping US Steel an American company headquartered in Pennsylvania and contributing billions of dollars in investments to our plants and communities, securing the future of the steel industry in Pennsylvania, Indiana, and our other locations,” a US Steel spokesperson said. Steele told the newspaper on Wednesday.
“No other party can do this, and US Steel will not be able to – nor does it have the resources – to do this alone. We look forward to completing the transaction and remain committed to working with all relevant parties to do so.”
The Washington Post requested comment from the White House and Trump's transition team.
Nippon said it plans to hire US citizens into senior management and board positions at US Steel as part of its acquisition in hopes of allaying concerns about national security.
The companies previously said they planned to close the deal, which also faced opposition from the United Steelworkers (USW) union, before the end of 2024.
USW said in a separate statement that it met with Nippon Steel officials twice last week.
She reiterated her view that the Japanese steelmaker has no interest in the long-term security of its U.S. steel mills or blast furnace operations and urged Biden to keep the company domestically owned and operated.
In order to gain support for the acquisition, Nippon Steel earlier said it would not use the deal as a cover for steel imports and made a series of pledges to protect jobs and invest in US facilities it considers essential to its future growth.
With mail wires
