U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works Clairton Plant in Clairton, Pa., is shown on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024. (Gene J. Puskar/AP)
(Tribune News Service) — Nippon Steel Vice Chairman Takahiro Mori said he would not accept a potential decision by President Joe Biden to block the Japanese steelmaker’s proposed purchase of U.S. Steel.
“I will never give up,” he said Tuesday during an interview with the Post-Gazette in West Mifflin. “This is good for the region, good for the community, good for U.S. Steel and good for the American economy as a whole.”
Presidential blocks are not subject to a judicial review. But Nippon could target the interagency panel currently vetting the deal for national security concerns. A decision is due to be sent to Mr. Biden’s desk before the end of the year.
Nippon’s CEO said last week in Japan that he would consider a lawsuit. Mr. Mori declined to elaborate Tuesday.
“It’s too sensitive at this moment,” he said. “We are doing everything at our disposal. That’s all I can say.”
U.S. Steel first agreed to the $14.9 billion takeover in December 2023 following a bidding war sparked by Ohio-based competitor Cleveland-Cliffs. The deal drew swift backlash from members of Congress and has since been held up by a regulatory review that experts say was influenced by political opposition from Mr. Biden and President-elect Donald Trump.
Mr. Mori resumed efforts to win over steelmakers and their communities in the Monongahela River Valley this week with visits to the Steelers game on Sunday and a planned stop at the Penguins game this Friday.
“The momentum to support this deal is getting stronger and stronger,” Mr. Mori said Tuesday as he and other Nippon leaders met with West Mifflin Mayor Chris Kelly at his home office — a garage stuffed with Pittsburgh memorabilia.
“Nobody around here is against it,” Mr. Kelly assured them. “A lot of steelworkers in the area, they’re all for it. And their wives.”
As if on cue, Mr. Kelly’s wife returned to the garage with a tray of pastries for the Japanese contingent.
Not all of their meetings have gone as smoothly.
The group has been trying to win over Sen. John Fetterman and was hoping to meet his wife Monday in Braddock, but she was out of town, Nippon officials said.
Mr. Kelly offered up her cell phone in case that was helpful. He also asked who else he could personally call to help win them over.
Mr. Mori had just one name: David McCall.
For months, the head of the United Steelworkers union has refused to meet with Nippon leadership while continuing to publicly bash the deal and lobby Washington against it.
“Bad for workers and bad for America,” Mr. McCall said Thursday in his latest salvo to members.
The union leader maintains a close relationship with Mr. Biden, who is trying to solidify his reputation as the most pro-union president. A growing number of USW members, however, now support the deal.
Mr. Kelly called Mr. McCall’s unwillingness to negotiate “disgraceful.”
“It’s not a way to represent your membership,” he said.
Mr. McCall was not immediately available Tuesday when the Post-Gazette reached out for comment.
Nippon has worked hard to bring the West Mifflin mayor and other regional leaders on board, promising a $1 billion investment in the region’s steel facilities and arranging visits to the company’s existing steel mill in Follansbee, West Virginia.
Mr. Kelly said the trip there “totally committed me before we even left.”
“One person said there wouldn’t be a town if it wasn’t for Nippon.”
Still, it’s not clear whether voices like his will carry as far as Nippon and U.S. Steel are hoping.
“The voices of this region [are] very important,” Mr. Mori said. “I think it will definitely have some impact on this [regulatory] review.”
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