WASHINGTON (TNS) — Just hours after the announcement that U.S. Steel would be sold to a Japanese company, U.S. senators from opposite parties but neighboring states vowed to oppose the deal.
“It’s absolutely outrageous that U.S. Steel has agreed to sell themselves to a foreign company,” said Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa. “Steel is always about security — both our national security and the economic security of our steel communities. I am committed to doing anything I can do, using my platform and my position, to block this foreign sale.”
Fellow Pennsylvanian Democratic Sen. Bob Casey said the “United States’ marquee steel company should remain under American ownership” and the sale “appeared to be a bad deal for Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania workers.”
Across party lines, Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, said “a critical piece of America’s defense industrial base” should not be owned by a foreign enterprise as he vowed to oppose the sale of the iconic Pittsburgh steelmaker to Nippon Steel Corp.
“U.S. Steel announced the sale by celebrating the ‘certain and immediate value’ to be delivered to its shareholders,” Vance said. “But rest assured that I will interrogate the long-term implications for the American people, and I will do everything in my power to protect the future of our nation’s security, industry and workers.”
Vance previously had urged U.S. Steel to reject any foreign bids.
Ohio’s Democratic senator, Sherrod Brown, joined Vance in criticizing the deal.
“A foreign company shouldn’t be able to swoop in, ignore the voices of union workers, and buy a major steel manufacturer behind closed doors,” Brown tweeted. “Today’s announcement between Nippon & U.S. Steel is an insult to the American steelworkers who build our country.”
In Harrisburg, too, there was angst over the announced sale.
“I harbor concerns about the future of our United Steelworkers union members as details of the Nippon sale emerge,” said state Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-Allegheny. “While this may be a good day for shareholders, the futures of our blue-collar families remain uncertain.”
State Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland, said U.S. Steel helped build the nation and that “we will continue to do all we can to maintain its presence where it belongs — Pittsburgh.”
She added: “It’s encouraging to hear the collective bargaining agreements will be honored and U.S. Steel will remain a part of the fabric of our community.”
Fetterman said he also was worried about how the sale would affect the steelworkers employed by U.S. Steel. He noted that he lives across the street from U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson plant in Braddock.
“I’m going to fight for the steelworkers and their union way of life,” Fetterman said. “We cannot ever let them be screwed over or left behind.”
Added Casey: “I’m concerned about what this means for the steelworkers and the good union jobs that have supported Pennsylvania families for generations, for the long-term investment in the commonwealth, and for American industrial leadership.”
