(The Center Square) – Gov. Josh Shapiro faces a new challenge after the White House blocked U.S. Steel’s overseas acquisition.
Join the lawsuit the company filed alongside its would-be Japanese-owned buyer, Nippon Steel, and make sure Pennsylvania doesn’t lose more jobs to “friggin’ Ohio.”
Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward threw down the gauntlet Monday during the Marty Griffin show on KDKA radio, referencing the governor’s infamous quote during his budget address in February 2024: build an economy that puts the Buckeye State’s to shame.
According to Ward, this could happen because the collapse of the deal on Friday leaves the backdoor open for domestic buyers – namely Ohio-based Cleveland-Cliffs, which offered to acquire U.S. Steel in July 2023 for less than half of the $14.9 billion Nippon bid.
In a statement issued after President Joe Biden’s decision to block the merger, Shapiro said U.S. Steel should stop “threatening” jobs in southwestern Pennsylvania and start entertaining offers from stateside buyers. He didn’t mention Cleveland-Cliffs by name and The Center Square was unable to reach his office for a response to Ward’s challenge.
In two lawsuits filed Monday, the companies say corruption from the United Steel Workers union exerted pressure on the president and the federal regulatory process to stop the sale. Why? To eliminate competition and steer the company’s sale to Cleveland-Cliffs instead.
“I’m not saying Cleveland-Cliffs is a bad company, but they can’t afford to invest in U.S. Steel like Nippon can invest in U.S. Steel to make it better here,” Ward said. “They can easily move this stuff across the border.”
The chamber’s top-ranking Republican, whose district envelops U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works, pointed to FirstEnergy’s acquisition of West Penn Power. The energy conglomerate consolidated operations among its portfolio of Pennsylvania power companies and moved about half of West Penn Power’s jobs to Ohio, Ward said.
“The governor keeps saying we don’t want to lose to Ohio,” she said. “Well, we’re going to lose to Ohio.”
The comments come after Biden officially blocked the Nippon sale, saying that the merger could jeopardize national security and lead to widespread layoffs.
At the heart of the concern is China’s unfair trade practices, which involve flooding the market with inferior and artificially low-priced products. These products force domestic-based steel producers to shutter and ratchet up the nation’s reliance on foreign materials, critics say.
Ward dismissed the concerns as unfounded, noting that the U.S. provides ground-to-air missiles to Japan without issue.
As part of the yearlong negotiations between the federal government, regulators, the United Steel Workers union and both companies, Nippon said it would back away from Chinese dealings, secure jobs, modernize manufacturing plants to better meet climate action goals and keep natural-born citizens on the U.S. Steel board.
The union was never swayed despite growing concerns among more than 1,000 Pittsburgh-based workers who supported the sale as crucial to preserving the region’s economic and cultural significance.
Local officials likewise supported the deal. Without it, U.S. Steel said it may relocate its headquarters out of Pittsburgh. The union said layoffs would come either way after Nippon reconsolidated its operations in Arkansas, where no collective bargaining exists.
Meanwhile, Ward grew more vocally frustrated with Shapiro’s public silence on the matter. In November, she urged the governor to go on the record about where he stands on the deal. A Shapiro spokesman later dismissed the request as petty and said the governor had been working behind the scenes since December 2023 to protect jobs, secure investments and stand up for workers.
“It didn’t work,” Ward said. “It clearly failed if that’s what he was doing. So, let’s go governor, let’s use your considerable power and position to help this and keep these jobs in southwestern Pennsylvania.”
