Lawmakers, union leaders and industry executives are fighting over Nippon Steel's takeover of US Steel – but what does this mean for Americans?
Both Democrats and Republicans are concerned that this will endanger national security, and also that American jobs could be at risk – a major concern of the union.
But some industry experts say the $14.9 billion deal could revive the company, and one analyst told DailyMail.com that little could change apart from the logo on US steelworkers' paychecks.
Cheerleader for the fight against the sale is John Fetterman, the Democratic senator for Pennsylvania, where US Steel is headquartered. He has pledged to “fight for the steelworkers” and block the proposed deal.
“I just want to say that it is absolutely outrageous that they have sold themselves to a foreign nation and a foreign company,” he said in a speech. video clip uploaded to Xformerly Twitter.
Japan's Nippon Steel announced Monday it would buy US Steel for $14.9 billion, but lawmakers and the United Steelworkers have vowed to block the deal
U.S. Senator John Fetterman has pledged to “fight for steelworkers.” He is pictured walking near the Senate subway near the U.S. Capitol on December 7
The Nippon deal, announced Monday, comes after rival domestic steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs made a smaller offer of $7.3 billion in August. That deal, on the other hand, was strongly supported by the union.
Nippon Steel has said it will honor all agreements between US Steel and the USW and will keep its name and headquarters in Pittsburgh.
That's not enough to satisfy the union. United Steelworkers (USW), which represents nearly all 22,000 U.S. steelworkers, said in a statement: 'To say we are disappointed in the announced deal between US Steel and Nippon is an understatement.'
Josh Spoores, steel analyst at CRU Group, told DailyMail.com that little will change for employees.
“From the steelworkers' perspective, they're going to get the same contract they got with US Steel,” he said.
“All the same US Steel people running sales today will be running sales in the future.”
Spoores noted that if the two domestic producers had united, the union would have had less bargaining power. He pointed to the advantage the United Auto Workers recently enjoyed by negotiating with Ford, GM and Stellantis all at once.
“If there's one steel company for all the unionized steelworkers, that doesn't seem very rosy,” he said.
According to Spoores, this would not only limit steelworkers' ability to bargain, but also create a less competitive market in the US.
“What (the Nippon acquisition) does is it maintains a competitive force in the marketplace and that's really what the buyers want.”
Politicians have also questioned the wisdom of selling a US industrial giant – the world's fourth-largest steelmaker – to a foreign company.
Three Republican senators wrote a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday urging her to block the deal. They cited national security concerns.
At least four Democratic senators — Sherrod Brown, Bob Casey and Joe Manchin, as well as Fetterman — have also opposed the deal, as have two Democratic members of the House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.
The photo shows hundreds of United Steelworkers meeting in August 2018
In a television interview After the deal was announced, union boss David McCall called it bad for America and bad for steelworkers.
He said the sale also violated bargaining agreements because he did not notify the union of the proposed sale. He also suggested that certain blast furnaces could close with new owners.
“Now there is an opportunity for imports from Japan from their facilities there,” he says told KDKA-TV.
But Spoores also disputed these concerns, noting that there are quotas limiting imports from Japan.
Tom Prusa, a Rutgers economics professor, echoed Spoore's comments and questioned the response of politicians like Fetterman.
“I think he's 100 percent wrong,” Prusa told NPR in response to Fetterman's comments. “There are challenges for US Steel employees, and those challenges will be there at US Steel, with or without Nippon Steel ownership.”
“What's most important to America's steel workers, especially those at US Steel, is that they have companies that are willing to invest and continue to invest in cutting-edge technology so they can be competitive.”
