Sen. Ward urges Biden to save jobs by supporting U. S. Steel/Nippon merger

Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. Kim Ward (R-Westmoreland County) urged President Joe Biden to support a planned merger between U. S. Steel and Nippon Steel.

The merger, announced earlier this week, would make the company stronger and allow it to sustain its employees, and U. S. Steel’s commitments to them and to the unions, company officials said in a press release this week.

“We will deliver enhanced capabilities and innovations for our customers in the United States and globally, and be able to invest in greener steel to meet our climate commitments. And we will maintain the U. S. Steel name and Pittsburgh headquarters, with even more capital to invest in Pennsylvania,” the company said.

In her letter to Biden, Ward said the deal was important to maintaining steel jobs in Pennsylvania.

The steel and metals industry in the Commonwealth provides more than 123,000 full and part-time jobs, and more than 30.000 of those jobs are employed directly in iron and steel mills. Additionally, the industry provided more than $55 billion in annual economic output in Pennsylvania. United States Steel Corporation alone has a $3.6 billion total economic impact in southwestern Pennsylvania. The company’s Mon Valley Works employs 3000 directly while supporting more than 11000 jobs in southwestern Pennsylvania,” Ward wrote.

The deal faces major opposition. Biden has said he would oppose the deal, and has said the merger could have negative implications on national security, the supply chain and steel jobs. The United Steelworkers union has said it is worried about job losses.

During a visit to the Pittsburgh headquarters of US Steel on Wednesday, Biden promised to thwart the acquisition of U. S. Steel, and called for the tripling of tariffs on Chinese steel. Biden said US Steel “has been an iconic American company for more than a century and it should remain totally American.”

Nippon’s acquisition of US Steel is currently under investigation from both the U.S. Justice Department and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

Ward said opposing the deal would cost jobs and damage the Pennsylvanian economy.

“Mr. President, it is imperative that we collaborate to secure the future of the steel industry in Pennsylvania, fostering an environment where it can flourish and prosper,” Ward said. “Steel is foundational and indispensable to our progress as a nation and Commonwealth, encompassing infrastructure projects, energy generation and distribution, transportation systems, housing construction and the safeguarding of our national security.