Editorial: When will U.S. say yes or no to U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel merger?

The world seems fine with Japan’s largest steel company acquiring the grandfather of steel production in America.

In December, Tokyo-based Nippon Steel made a $14.9 billion offer to merge with U.S. Steel. In April, U.S. Steel stockholders approved the proposal by an overwhelming 99% of shares represented.

And yet a resolution is still not in sight.

Foreign regulatory agencies have given their approval, according to the two companies, both of which are global leaders in production.

The Directorate-General for Competition of the European Commission, the Mexican Federal Economic Competition Commission, the Serbian Competition Commission, the Ministry of Economy of Slovakia and the Turkish Competition Authority have all signed off. The United Kingdom Competition and Markets Authority has no more questions.

“Together with Nippon Steel, U.S. Steel will become a world-leading steelmaker with enhanced technologies and resources to support a stronger steel industry with enhanced competition,” said U.S. Steel CEO and President David Burritt.

OK. Now what about American regulatory approval? That has yet to come, but it is necessary for the deal to be completed.

Nippon’s offer wasn’t the first received in 2023. Cleveland-Cliffs offered $7.3 billion in August. Sewickley’s Esmark offered $7.8 billion. Nippon’s proposal is just a hair short of the two bids combined.

There were assurances made that Pittsburgh would be the corporate headquarters. There were promises about no layoffs or closures until at least September 2026. Nippon said it would make additional investments after the merger is completed.

Almost six months after the offer was made, that completion remains on the horizon — not as something close to happening but as something that seems always out of reach.

The politics need to be put aside.

Politicians on both sides of the aisle and all levels of government have expressed everything from questions to reluctance to outright opposition. The issues are not insubstantial. There is the impact on jobs. There is the impact on the domestic steel market. There is the very real concern about national security and national infrastructure safety.

Nippon’s promises need to be scrutinized. Promises are cheap — as evidenced by U.S. Steel’s 2019 vow to invest $1 billion in the Edgar Thomson Works in Braddock and the cogeneration plant in Clairton. That was followed by a 2021 pullback of those plans.

If government officials — including President Joe Biden; Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock; and Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton — believe the deal has genuine negatives that rise to national levels, they need to do more than deliver sound bites and social media posts. They need to demonstrate them. Spell them out. Make a pie chart.

But the time has come to get answers. Nippon and U.S. Steel project finalizing the merger in the second half of the year. The second half of the year starts a month from today.