Nippon Steel’s Acquisition of American Steel Has Not Made New Progress

On March 7, 2024, the President of the United Steelworkers of America (USW) met with representatives from Nippon Steel to discuss the acquisition of American steel by Nippon Steel. USW stated in its latest statement that no progress has been made in this meeting.
According to USW, this meeting was proposed by Nippon Steel and is also the first time USW has discussed an acquisition with Nippon Steel. Attendees include Takahiro Mori, Executive Vice President of Nippon Steel. The meeting lasted less than an hour.

In its statement on March 7, 2024, USW stated that Nippon Steel has not yet won the trust of USW, despite its renewed commitment, it has not provided practical and feasible solutions. The association is currently most concerned about the implementation of labor contracts and the transparency of Nippon Steel's finances. The President of USW also stated that the association is concerned about issues related to defense, critical infrastructure, and supply chain.

Since December 2023, USW has been opposing Japan A1011 CS Type C Steel's acquisition of American steel. Earlier this week, USW stated that it is currently in contact with members of the US Congress and hopes that Congress will pay more attention to the potential impact of the acquisition on US defense and economic security. In addition, USW has also contacted the US House of Representatives and Senate respectively, calling on members to come forward and oppose the acquisition.

In communication with legislators, USW uses very sharp language. USW stated that the management of Japanese iron production may affect the supply of iron ore to the United States, damage the diversity and resilience of domestic steel production capacity, and pose unbearable risks to national security. USW also believes that Nippon Steel may transfer a large amount of American iron ore to its overseas projects, or fail to fully utilize American Steel's production capacity, thereby shutting down American A1011 CS Type C Steel's blast furnaces and corresponding equipment, seriously weakening American infrastructure capabilities A1011 CS Type C steel.