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He steel-maker United States US Steel It has threatened to close several production sites if its takeover by Japanese rival Nippon Steel fails, leaving presidential candidates opposed to the deal between a rock and a hard place.
The American company indicated in a statement that if the Japanese firm does not take control, it would give up large investments in modernizing facilities in Mon Valley Works (Pennsylvania) and Gary Works (Indiana).
In late August, the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based company pledged to add $1.3 billion to the investments included in the purchase deal, bringing the total to $2.7 billion.
Pennsylvania is one of the key states for the presidential elections on November 5 in USA.
Both the vice president, Kamala Harris, like former president and Republican candidate Donald Trump (2017-2021), have expressed opposition to the sale during their election campaign.
“We want elected officials and other key decision makers to recognize the benefits of the agreement as well as the inevitable consequences if the deal fails,” the president of the American group explained, David Burritt.
If “US Steel should continue alone”, without joining Nippon Steel, “The company would not make the same commitments,” said the management of this icon of American capitalism, descendant of the empire of the American businessman Andrew Carnegie.
In December, US Steel reached a sale agreement for 14.9 billion dollars with Japan’s Nippon Steel, which promised investments to keep its Pennsylvania factories competitive.
But the transaction, which was denounced by the powerful union in the sector, the United Steelworkers (USW), presents difficulties at the political level, since many Republicans and Democrats are against it.
On Monday, during an event for the holiday of Labor Day in Pittsburgh, Harris He declared that US Steel “must remain in American hands and operated by Americans.”
Trump has also expressed his willingness to block the sale if it becomes law, while his running mate, JD Vance, has led the opposition in Congress, considering steel production a matter of national security.
US Steel argues that the sale is necessary to ensure sufficient investment in its plants. Mon Valley, the first of which dates back to 1875.
Nippon Steel pledged to keep plants open and invest $1.4 billion in union-friendly factories ETC until 2026.
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2024-09-12 00:38:15