Steel Mills

Nippon won't import slabs to US if U.S. Steel deal goes through

November 19, 2024

Nippon Steel has affirmed that if its $14.9-billion bid for U.S. Steel proves successful, the Japanese steelmaker will not import overseas-produced slabs to the US.

Vice Chairman and EVP Takahiro Mori outlined this and other promises from Nippon in a letter on Monday. It was addressed to United Steelworkers (USW) union-represented workers at USS’ Mon Valley Works in Pennsylvania and Gary Works in Indiana.

“Nippon Steel will not import overseas-produced slabs or reduce the ability of U.S. Steel to produce slabs,” Mori said.

“Not only is this a commitment, but also shipping slabs halfway around the world is prohibitively expensive and does not make strategic or economic sense when we can produce high-quality slabs in Mon Valley and Gary through our partnership with U.S. Steel,” he added.

He is in Pittsburgh this week visiting with local mayors and business leaders. And also with USW-elected leaders and USS employees.

“The purpose of my trip is to express our excitement about investing in and growing U. S. Steel’s integrated facilities,” he said.

Mori noted that “there is a lot of misinformation circulating about the Nippon Steel-U.S. Steel partnership.”

He continued, “Said plainly, our commitments are about protecting and growing U.S. Steel and transforming its facilities so that they can be around for the next generation.”

Some other commitments included a dedication to blast-furnace steelmaking, no less than a $2.7-billion investment in USW-represented facilities, as well as a commitment to “protecting American interests.”

Also in the letter, Mori said “my offer to meet with the USW leadership when I am in Pittsburgh has so far gone unanswered.”

USW responds

When asked for comment on the letter, a USW spokesperson supplied SMU with a statement from USW International President David McCall.

McCall said the union’s concern with the deal “is not simply how it plays out in the short-term, but what happens to our facilities in the years and decades to come.”

“Since the deal was announced, neither company has meaningfully addressed the long-term implications of the sale for USW jobs or the communities that depend on them, nor have they provided any long-term, enforceable guarantees to back up their public statements,” he added.

Nippon won’t accept Biden blocking transaction

In an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazzette on Tuesday, Mori said Nippon would not accept if President Joe Biden’s administration blocks the deal.

“I will never give up,” he told the paper.

A spokesperson for Nippon said the company had no further comment on the matter.

Recall that SMU reported on Sunday that Nippon Steel Chairman and CEO Eiji Hashimoto said the company would consider suing the US governemt if the deal was blocked.

The final obstacle is the US Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS) review, which was extended in September. Nippon has said a decision is expected by the end of December.

The Post-Gazzette noted that presidential blocks are not subject to a judicial review. However, Nippon could take aim at the interagency panel reviewing the deal.

Ethan Bernard

Ethan Bernard is managing editor for Steel Market Update. He previously worked for American Metal Market as a copy editor in the New York office for two years, starting in 2008. Later, he copy edited AMM’s monthly magazine on a freelance basis from 2015 until 2017. With experience in financial copywriting and textbook publishing, he holds a BA in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, and an MFA. in Creative Writing from New York University. He can be reached at ethan@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7871.