Editorial: Will U.S. Steel advertising campaign work for Nippon Steel sale?

If you have a mailbox, you may have gotten a postcard advertisement from U.S. Steel.

If you watch television, you may have seen a commercial about Nippon Steel.

If you spend time online, you may have seen a pop-up ad about the sale of the high-profile Pittsburgh-based American steel company to the Japanese giant.

The campaign isn’t about selling metal. It’s about selling the sale.

Nippon Steel made its offer to acquire U.S. Steel in December. The $14.9 billion deal has been tied up in questions since.

It has faced opposition from federal lawmakers like Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton; Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock; and GOP vice presidential nominee Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio. There is skepticism from local leaders like Allegheny County Councilman and county Republican chair Sam DeMarco.

President Joe Biden and former president and GOP nominee Donald Trump have vowed to block the deal. Trump may want to check in with some of his supporters on that, as Nippon has hired his last secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, to shepherd the deal across the finish line.

There are questions of impact on American jobs and the Pittsburgh economy, despite Nippon’s assurances that it would honor the steelworkers contract that runs through 2026 and keep the U.S. Steel headquarters in the Steel City. There are questions of national security and the dangers of having critical infrastructure building blocks controlled by a foreign power.

But U.S. Steel, which had multiple but much lower offers in 2023, received approval for the sale from stockholders in April. It needs regulatory approval to move forward and seems to be relying on public pressure to move that needle.

U.S. Steel insists this isn’t a lobbying campaign so much as an effort to educate the public on plans for the merger.

That doesn’t make sense given the words on the mailers: “Tell your elected officials to support the U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel partnership.”

That’s not about education. That’s an appeal to a constituency. And with opposition at all levels and in both parties, it feels like a campaign with little hope of moving leaders. With the United Steelworkers just as opposed, will moving Pennsylvanians be any more likely?