(The Center Square) – A controversial $14.9 billion overseas buyout of the iconic U.S. Steel company based in Pittsburgh still doesn’t have Donald Trump’s support.
On Tuesday, the president-elect reaffirmed his vow to block the deal with Japanese-based Nippon Steel, upholding the same promise given by the Biden administration earlier this year.
Instead, he says, stronger tariffs will save the company from shuttering its headquarters in the eponymous Steel City and moving further south.
“I am totally against the once great and powerful U.S. Steel being bought by a foreign company, in this case Nippon Steel of Japan,” Trump said on Truth Social. “Through a series of tax incentives and tariffs, we will make U.S. Steel strong and great again, and it will happen FAST! As president, I will block this deal from happening. Buyer Beware!!!”
Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, a Republican saying 4,000 workers in her district could lose their jobs if the company leaves western Pennsylvania, said Trump’s words give her hope.
“I am 100% on board to make U.S. Steel great again,” she said. “Keeping U.S. Steel headquarters and operations in southwestern Pennsylvania is about keeping our jobs and our heritage in place for present and future generations.
“President Trump’s comments to make U.S. Steel great again through his administration’s policies when he assumes the presidency, provide the promise of options and solutions that have been absent from the current administration.”
Ward has been a vocal backer of the deal and has criticized Gov. Josh Shapiro for his “slippery” position on the controversial issue. Last month, she sent a letter to the administration urging the governor to speak publicly about where he stands.
“Equally important, the people whose jobs depend on the success of U.S. Steel need to hear from you,” Ward writes to Shapiro. “This acquisition represents a rare inflection point for our state’s steel industry, its workforce and our economic future.”
Manuel Bonder, Shapiro’s spokesman, said the governor has been working behind the scenes since the deal was first announced in late 2023.
“While a determination about this proposed deal will ultimately be made by the White House, Governor Shapiro and his team will continue to act as an honest broker and work closely with all parties to find a solution that protects Pennsylvania jobs,” he told The Center Square.
Nippon says its longtime presence in the United States makes it an ideal partner to help grow the steel industry domestically. According to President Tadashi Imai, Nippon’s 2,000 patents and 4,000 employees based in Pennsylvania, Alabama, Virginia and West Virginia support this assertion.
An economic impact study from the Pennsylvania Economy League found that, in 2024, the state’s $33.1 billion steel industry employs nearly 31,000 workers in iron and steel mills and ferroalloy manufacturing.
Resistance to Nippon’s proposal, however, extends nationwide.
The United Steel Workers Union – representing 850,000 members across the country, including some from Nippon – backed the White House’s opposition, calling for U.S. Steel to remain a domestically-owned and operated company.
In a Nov. 14 statement signed by union International President David McCall and Mike Millsap, a district leader and chief negotiator, the officials said Nippon will say anything to “close the deal” and will eventually abandon facilities in Pennsylvania to centralize steel production in Arkansas.
“The proposed USS-Nippon deal remains dangerous for our members and for the country. Nothing has changed,” McCall and Millsap said. “If we’re serious about our national and economic security, we must protect the viability and sustainability of raw materials and the melting, pouring and finishing of steel in our facilities.”
Not all U.S. Steel workers share the same concerns. In September, more than 1,000 employees rallied outside the company’s headquarters in Pittsburgh in support of the acquisition as a last-ditch effort to save their jobs.
