The PA Governor credited President Trump with securing improved terms in a long-anticipated merger between U.S. Steel and Japan-based Nippon.
In a rare show of support for the presidential administration, Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro has praised the partnership negotiated by President Trump between U.S. Steel and Japan-based Nippon, which promises a $14 billion investment and thousands of new American jobs.
According to Shapiro, his support for the deal was one of the first items he broached with the president when Trump reached out following a recent arson attack on the Governor’s Mansion. Shapiro recalled that, after the president asked after his family, “we got down to business, and we talked for a while about different issues.”
“I actually think maybe he was surprised to hear me talk about the need to get this done and my support for getting something done,” Shapiro stated.
In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Shapiro was described as “smiling” while discussing the merits of the merger.
“The deal has gotten better. The prospects for the future of steelmaking have gotten better,” Shapiro told the outlet. “And credit the President for making the deal richer and richer, meaning more money put in it and looking out for Pennsylvania in this.”
In the updated terms of the long-anticipated deal, U.S. Steel will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Nippon Steel North America, but will operate as its own company with its headquarters in Pittsburgh, creating an estimated 70,000 new jobs.
Legislators from across the Commonwealth, including those in western Pennsylvania, have been quick to express their support.
“President Trump’s engagement in the Nippon/U.S. Steel acquisition has not only made this the largest steel merger in recent history, but will position the American steel industry to dominate the global marketplace through innovation,” stated Pa. Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, who represents Westmoreland County.
Ward concluded that the deal will “keep U.S. Steel where it belongs – in western Pennsylvania.”
The planned merger represents a profoundly different outcome than the one offered under the Biden administration, as the former president sided with union leadership by outright rejecting the sale.
United Steelworkers International President David McCall maintained his opposition to involvement with Nippon, expressing skepticism in a Wednesday statement that urged Trump to block the deal and accused Nippon of unfair trade practices.
“For decades, Nippon has been dumping its products into our markets, costing us thousands of good, community-supporting jobs and undermining our steelmaking capabilities,” McCall wrote. “Now, as it continues to make flashy promises about proposed investments, it remains clear Nippon is simply seeking to undercut our domestic industry from the inside.”
In a Friday press conference at U.S. Steel’s Irvin Works in West Mifflin, President Trump announced his intention to double the steel tariff to 50% – a move he says will “further secure the steel industry.”
