Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel continue to push for an agreement to be made through a sale, but President Biden is opposing it.
This week, Nippon Steel promised $5,000 payouts to its steelworkers once its proposed purchase of the Pittsburgh steelmaker is finalized. President Biden also signaled this week that he plans to block the controversial $15 billion sale.
The president remains convinced that the Pittsburgh steelmaker should continue to be American owned.
Nippon Steel said in a statement, “It is inappropriate that politics continue to outweigh true national security interests – especially with the indispensable alliance between the U.S. and Japan as the important foundation.”
U.S. Steel also responded, saying, “Our communities, customers, investors, and employees strongly support this transaction, and we will continue to advocate for them and adherence to the rule of law.” It previously threatened to cut jobs and move its headquarters out of Pennsylvania to push the deal through.
Nippon’s top negotiator, Takahiro Mori, planned to return to Washington this week.
Earlier Tuesday, Mori released a statement promising to pay U.S. Steel employees a $5,000 closing bonus if the controversial deal was approved. The money would go to all workers below senior manager level, including those not represented by the United Steelworkers union.
United Steelworkers President David McCall has opposed the deal since it was proposed. USW also opposes the payouts to steelworkers.
“This offer ultimately does nothing to change the stakes of the deal, the lasting damage it could do to our domestic steel industry or the grave implications for our national and economic security,” McCall and negotiating lead Mike Millsap wrote in a letter to members.
On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to comment on the matter during a press briefing.
U.S. Steel has about 22,000 workers worldwide. Nippon Steel expected the total cost of its payout to be nearly $100 million.
