Takahiro Mori, executive vice president of Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel, has pledged in a letter to the members of US-based United Steelworkers (USW) union regarding its intention to acquire US Steel that the company will not ship steel from its overseas mills to the US, according to media reports.
Unions in the US have been arguing that Nippon Steel’s mills outside the US pose a threat to the domestic steel industry and that the Japanese steelmaker may decide to import cheaper steel into the US in the future, substituting some domestic production. However, Mr. Mori stated that Nippon Steel will neither import slabs into the US, nor reduce US Steel’s slab production capacity.
Also, the Nippon Steel official reiterated that the company will not pursue layoffs following the acquisition, and that it will invest about $2.7 billion to modernize the facilities of US Steel across the country.
