Harris voices opposition to Nippon Steel's buyout of U.S. Steel

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (Kyodo) -- U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said Monday she is against the planned acquisition of United States Steel Corp. by Nippon Steel Corp., Japan's largest steelmaker.

The Democratic Party's presidential candidate told a Labor Day campaign rally in Pittsburgh that the U.S. producer should remain domestically owned and operated.

Harris, hoping to shore up support from blue-collar workers, attended the event with President Joe Biden, who abandoned his bid for a second term in July. While vowing to further strengthen the country's manufacturing sector, she called U.S. Steel a "historic company."

"It is vital for our nation to maintain strong American steel companies," she said. "I couldn't agree more with President Biden ... and I will always have the back of America's steelworkers and all of America's workers."

U.S. Steel, founded in 1901, is headquartered in Pittsburgh, the principal city in the western part of Pennsylvania, a key battleground state in the Nov. 5 presidential election.

The Japanese and U.S. steelmakers in December announced the $14.1 billion acquisition deal. U.S. Steel and its shareholders have backed the takeover that would make it more globally competitive and create the world's third-largest steelmaker by volume.

But United Steelworkers International has spoken against the takeover, turning it into a delicate political issue. The planned acquisition has not yet received U.S. regulatory approval.

Harris' latest U.S. Steel remarks are in step with those of Biden, who has said multiple times this year that the company should remain American-owned. The powerful labor union has endorsed Harris.