President Biden pushed back against the potential sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel of Japan on Thursday, calling it “vital” for the company to remain domestically owned.
“It is important that we maintain strong American steel companies powered by American steel workers,” Biden said in a statement obtained by The Hill. “I told our steel workers I have their backs, and I meant it. U.S. Steel has been an iconic American steel company for more than a century, and it is vital for it to remain an American steel company that is domestically owned and operated.”
Biden’s comments are the first time he has publicly weighed in on the topic since Nippon Steel first announced in December that it planned to buy U.S. Steel for roughly $14 billion. The planned transaction raised alarms among Pennsylvania lawmakers and steelworkers about what it could mean for outsourcing jobs, for union workers and for U.S. supply chains.
The White House had previously said the deal would be reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
Such a transaction would be significant for Biden in an election year, where the economy and his support for union workers are central to his reelection pitch. Biden has touted himself as the most pro-union president of all time, and he has pointed to low unemployment and high investments in domestic supply chains as examples of a strengthened economy.
United Steelworkers, which endorsed Biden in 2020, issued a statement in February praising Biden as the union pushed back against a potential sale of U.S. Steel.
“It’s essential that we continue to safeguard our domestic steelmaking capacity, and we appreciate the president’s ongoing commitment to revitalizing our critical supply chains and rebuilding our nation’s economic strength,” the union said in a statement.
Japan is a close U.S. ally, but White House officials sought to downplay any tensions that might stem from Biden’s opposition to the Nippon Steel purchase. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is set to attend a state visit at the White House in April.
“We have an incredibly close partnership, friendship and alliance with Japan, and the president is very much looking forward to Prime Minister Kishida’s visit and to discussing the broad range of issues in our bilateral relationship,” White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.
Updated at 12:06 p.m.