Nippon Steel promises that US Steel will be run by Americans

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Nippon Steel pledged to appoint a board for US Steel with a majority of American citizens if its $14.9 billion deal for the company is approved, after Vice Chairman Kamala Harris said Monday that it should remain “owned and operated by Americans”. .

The Japanese company, which launched its bid for US Steel in December, said on Wednesday that the board would also include three independent directors who are US citizens and that “core members of senior management” would be American.

It added that US Steel will be owned by Nippon Steel North America, a New York subsidiary of the Japanese company “which has operated in the United States for over 50 years.”

Nippon Steel’s new commitments are part of a concerted lobbying effort to convince US lawmakers that it is an acceptable owner of the Pittsburgh-based company, following a bipartisan backlash against the deal.

Both Democrats and Republicans have been trying to woo blue-collar voters in the critical state of Pennsylvania in the run-up to the November election.

Donald Trump, the former president and Republican candidate for the White House, has vowed to block the bid, and Harris’ comments about the proposed foreign takeover echo US President Joe Biden’s opposition to the deal. However, they have taken on new meaning since Harris became the Democratic nominee for president.

Speaking in Pittsburgh at a Labor Day union rally, Harris said: “We will continue to strengthen America’s manufacturing sector, US Steel is a historic American company and it is vital to our nation to maintain strong American steel companies.”

“US Steel should remain American owned and operated,” she told the cheering crowd. “And I will always have the back of steel and all of America’s workers.”

Harris won the support of most of the key U.S. labor unions, which are a powerful constituency within the Democratic Party and help rally voters in battleground states.

However, opposition to the deal has raised concerns in Washington and Tokyo that it could damage relations with Japan, one of the US’s closest allies in its efforts to limit China’s military and economic rise.

As part of its efforts to allay fears in Washington and win over unions, Nippon Steel said last week it plans to spend at least $1.3 billion extra on U.S. steel mills if the deal is approved.

The money would come on top of an already announced $1.4 billion investment and promises not to move capacity outside the US, lay off staff or close factories as a result of the deal.

Mike Pompeo, the former secretary of state under Trump, was also brought on board by Nippon Steel as part of the lobbying effort.

On Wednesday, Nippon Steel reiterated its belief that the deal “will revitalize America’s steel rust belt, benefit American workers, local communities and national security in a way no other alternative can.”

“Simply put, US Steel and the entire American steel industry will have a much stronger foundation because of Nippon Steel’s investment in US Steel – an investment that Nippon Steel is the only party willing and able to make,” the company added.