Potential Harris running mate Josh Shapiro opposes Nippon-US Steel merger

‘If the US steel workers aren’t happy with this deal, which they are not, I’m not happy with this deal,’ the Pennsylvania Governor said

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Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro in Ambler, Pennsylvania on Monday. Photo: Reuters

Published: 7:14am, 31 Jul 2024Updated: 9:56am, 31 Jul 2024

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said on Tuesday that he cannot support Japanese firm Nippon Steel’s bid to buy US Steel in its current form because the United Steelworkers union is unhappy with the merger.

Shapiro, who is a contender to be Vice-President Kamala Harris’ Democratic Party running mate in the November US presidential election, said he was viewing the proposed merger through its impact on workers.

“Speaking from a state perspective as governor, if the US steel workers aren’t happy with this deal, which they are not, I’m not happy with this deal,” Shapiro said at an Internal Revenue Service event attended by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

“If I don’t see a future where US Steel manufacturing continues here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and is expanding from what is happening right now, I’m not happy, so I’ve got really serious concerns,” he said.

The United States Steel Mon Valley Works Clairton Plant in Clairton, Pennsylvania. Photo: AP

Shapiro told a press conference after a tax event in Philadelphia that he will review any business deal through “the prism of how does it impact Pennsylvania workers”, as the state has grown thanks to US Steel and other industrial manufacturers.

US Steel, founded in 1901, is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a key battleground state in the November 5 election.