TOKYO, Sept 24 (Askume) – Nippon Steel (5401.T) Vice Chairman Takahiro Mori said on Tuesday the Japanese company is in talks with the United Steelworkers (USW) over the acquisition of U.S. Steel Corp (XN) .
Sen, the lead negotiator on the $14.9 billion deal, said in a letter to US Steelworkers that USW President David McCall “failed to seriously consider any of the proposals we made.”
“We just need the USW leadership to step up and negotiate. I hope they will do so in the near future,” Sen wrote.
The USW did not immediately respond to a Askume request for comment.
The deal faces opposition from top Democrats and Republicans ahead of the US presidential election in November, including Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump.
sources told last week
Yoshiro Mori said in the letter that Nippon Steel is committed to maintaining US Steel’s blast furnace operations in the long term and will not replace slabs produced at US Steel plants represented by the USW with those produced overseas.
Mori said the Japanese company would honor all commitments to U.S. Steel related to the union agreement, including labor, pensions and insurance, adding that his company would not interfere in U.S. Steel’s decisions on business matters.
The companies plan to complete the deal by the end of December, subject to regulatory approval.
