Local leaders react to Harris’ opposition of sale of U.S. Steel to a Japanese firm

The vice president campaigned in Pittsburgh on Labor Day alongside President Joe Biden.

In a campaign visit to Pittsburgh Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris opposed the pending sale of U.S. Steel to Japanese company Nippon Steel.

“U.S. Steel should remain American owned and American operated,” Harris said during her speech at IBEW Local 5 in Pittsburgh’s Southside.

President Joe Biden joined Harris, marking their first joint appearance on the campaign since she assumed the Democratic nomination for president. Biden, who has opposed the sale of the steel company in the past, said U.S. Steel will remain an American company.

In a statement to the Associated Press, U.S. Steel said it remains “committed to the transaction with Nippon Steel, which is the best deal for our employees, shareholders, communities, and customers.”

“The partnership with Nippon Steel, a long-standing investor in the United States from our close ally Japan, will strengthen the American steel industry, American jobs, and American supply chains, and enhance the U.S. steel industry’s competitiveness and resilience against China,” the company said, noting that it employs nearly 4,000 people in Pennsylvania alone.

Legislators have expressed differing opinions on the sale.

State Rep. Andrew Kuzma, R-Elizabeth Township, told the Mon Valley Independent Monday that three things need to happen before he would publicly endorse Nippon’s acquisition of U.S. Steel: a $1 billion-plus investment for upgrades to Mon Valley Works, approval from Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato on upgrades and the United Steelworkers’ approval on the investment.

While Nippon released a statement last week saying it would invest “no less than $1 billion to enhance the competitiveness of Mon Valley Works,” Kuzma doesn’t be- lieve Allegheny County would allow it, referring to Innamorato as a “far extremist.” “So what does it mean whenever we have an Allegheny County executive that is referred to as comrade?” Kuzma said.

U.S. Steel initiated a $1 billion plan, which was ultimately scrapped three years ago, to upgrade Mon Valley Works, but the company never received air permits from the Allegheny County Health Department.

“So I don’t know how you could accomplish upgrading those plants and getting a permit now that we have a far left county executive,” Kuzma said.

As part of her All In Allegheny Action Plan, Innamorato is committed to reducing toxic air pollution, which continues to affect Allegheny County, especially the Mon Valley.

Kuzma also didn’t mince words about Harris. “She’s a total phony,” he said. “She knows that she’s gonna get beat by (former) President Trump, and she knows her policies are unpopular. … I don’t think that the people of Allegheny County or Washington County, which I represent, believe anything that she says.”

At the time the U.S. Steel’s acquisition was announced, state Sen. Jim Brewster, D-McKeesport, was optimistic about it while pledging his support for the United Steelworkers. U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock, opposed the sale when it was announced.

State Sen. Kim Ward, R-Hempfield, referred to Nippon’s plan to invest $1 billion in Mon Valley Works last week as encouraging in a statement last week.

“Nippon’s pledge to honor the current union contracts along with their willingness to make the necessary upgrades to the Mon Valley Works facility demonstrates a commitment to future generations of Pennsylvania laborers,” Ward said. “Nippon Steel’s investments in cutting-edge infrastructure at the Mon Valley Works facility will not only jump-start innovation and secure jobs for our region to grow and compete, but will also generate critical construction jobs for the building trades which will help create certainty for all.”

Nippon’s acquisition of U.S. Steel is expected to close by the end of the year.