Lawmakers have joined the United Steelworkers union in outrage at the $14.9 billion deal which they demand be scrutinized.
Senator John Fetterman is among Democratic lawmakers who have reacted angrily to the multi-billion-dollar sale of U.S. Steel, which is headquartered in President Joe Biden’s birth state of Pennsylvania.
The plan by Japan’s Nippon Steel to acquire U.S. Steel for $14.9 billion has caused an uproar in Congress and from the United Steelworkers union (USW), concerned at the impact of a sale to a foreign buyer of the Pittsburgh steel producer that was once the world’s largest company and played a key role in American industrialization.
The USW said it was not informed of the deal which is in violation of a partnership agreement with U.S. Steel that it be informed of a change in control or business conditions.
Amid concerns the deal could shift steelworking jobs to low-wage states, threaten national security and undermine U.S. industry, it poses a problem for Biden who has presented himself as a pro-union president, joining the picket line of striking United Auto Workers union members in Detroit, Michigan in September.
