Nippon Steel Defends Its U.S. Steel Bid after Harris' Opposition

Tokyo, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)--Nippon Steel Corp. released a statement Tuesday arguing that the Japanese firm's planned acquisition of United States Steel Corp. would benefit the United States, after U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris expressed her opposition to the buyout plan the previous day.

"We're confident that Nippon Steel's acquisition of U.S. Steel will revitalize the American steel rust belt, benefit American workers, local communities, and national security in a way no other alternative can," Nippon Steel said. "We believe that a fair and objective regulatory review process will support this outcome, and we look forward to closing the transaction as soon as possible."

Nippon Steel said last month that it would make an additional investment of about 1.3 billion dollars in U.S. Steel following the takeover. The Japanese firm stressed that only it was able to carry out such a large investment, and that "U.S. Steel and the entire American steel industry will be on much stronger footing."

The acquisition is strongly opposed by the United Steelworkers, or USW, labor union.

Harris, the Democratic Party candidate for the U.S. presidential election in November, joined former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, in opposing the planned acquisition. Trump has repeatedly vowed to block the move if elected. Both the Harris and Trump campaigns are jostling for votes from blue-collar workers in battleground states, including Pennsylvania, where U.S. Steel is based.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]