Both sides of the proposed U.S. Steel sale to Japanese company Nippon are reacting after President Joe Biden officially blocked the sale on Friday.
During a news conference, United Steel Workers President says he supports Biden's block of US-Japan steel deal.
USW's President David McCall says they have no doubt that it’s the right move for our members and our national security.
“Moving forward, we’re confident that with responsible management, U.S. Steel will continue to support good jobs, healthy communities and robust national and economic security well into the future,” said McCall. “Throughout this process, it’s been very stressful on our members but I want to thank them for their support, the local union leadership for their support, public officials who supported us through this process and taken the time to understand what the real issues were before they moved forward one way or the other.”
McCall says the company has a long history of being competitive with the most productive steel workers in the world and who can compete with anybody.
He adds he has no concerns regarding President-elect Donald Trump overturning the decision once in office.
Kevin Lewis, U.S. Steel Vice President for Finance and Strategy tells KDKA Radio’s Colin Dunlap that the deal would provide “an unmatched commitment to these facilities that have been codified in writing via a national security agreement, signed by the highest ranking officials of both Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel and submitted to the United States government for enforcement.”
Lewis says Biden’s decision only creates more uncertainty for steel workers.
North Braddock Mayor Cletus Lee tells Dunlap say Nippon Steel buying U.S. Steel is what’s best for the Mon Valley.
“Blocking this deal will definitely devastate our region and eliminate our legacy mills that we know of right now, so we have to look at what we need to do to move forward,” said Lee.