By Mark Brennan
U.S. Steel, the iconic American company based in Pittsburgh, is possibly being bought by a Japanese industry powerhouse, Nippon Steel Corp. With this deal, the locus of the American steel industry may be shifting. South Jersey went through a similar shift 200 years ago.
From Pittsburgh to Harrisburg to Washington, D..C, corporate and union leadership, along with politicians, are debating over whether the sale makes sense. Those arguing against the deal are citing national security, industrial policy principles and labor concerns. Those arguing in favor are citing free trade, the environment, and the financial realities of modern steel plants. The debate does not even cut clearly along partisan lines. The deal is currently in limbo, as the Biden administration reviews it.