For over a century, U. S. Steel has been part of the foundation of American greatness. The company’s American steel formed bridges, infrastructure and towering skyscrapers across our nation. It has also been a backbone of our blue-collar economy in Ohio and across the heartland. Today, global trends have left U. S. Steel in trouble — but a historic investment deal with a leading Japanese steel company offers a path to a new golden age.
In 1901, U. S. Steel became the largest American business ever launched. For much of the twentieth century it was the world’s top steel producer. Now, U. S. Steel has fallen to number 24 in the global ranks. Foreign competition and unfair trade practices, especially from China, have bruised this iconic business. The company is down more than 300,000 jobs from its peak employment. Its aging blast furnaces and other facilities are in trouble.
We’ve lived this story here in Ohio.
Ohio’s steel industry surged during World War II. Our state was ideally located on Lake Erie and at the convergence of railroad lines. By the mid-1900s, blast furnaces across Ohio were churning out American steel. But more recently, the sector has been hit hard. By 2020, market conditions forced the only U. S. Steel plant in Ohio, Lorain Tubular Operations, to idle. This cost 1,500 residents their jobs and drained the community of needed revenue.
Fortunately for American workers — and our national security and self-sufficiency — U. S. Steel has negotiated a landmark partnership with the Japanese firm Nippon Steel that would give our domestic steel industry a huge shot in the arm. The deal would lift U. S. Steel from #24 in the world to being part of the world’s third-largest steel maker. Nippon’s huge injection of investment would save jobs, bring billions of dollars in new investments to facilities across the heartland and give American workers access to new, advanced technology they need to compete with China. President Trump’s tariffs are already providing American steel with some immediate relief and more time. This deal would build on the President’s policies and bring America back to steel powerhouse status for the long haul.
No wonder that while some union bosses and bureaucrats convinced President Biden to block this deal, local union leaders say their rank-and-file steelworkers on the ground support it strongly.
So do I. Having spent nearly 30 years in and around the steel industry, I’ve worked alongside other American steel company executives on improving the industry. It’s been tough out there for all of us. As a result, I advocated forcefully for the steel tariffs that President Trump imposed during his first term. But tariffs are only part of the solution to the American steel industry’s problems. That’s particularly true for companies like U. S. Steel that have not been able to modernize their large, aging facilities. These companies need not just additional money, but new technology.
It’s only natural that questions have been raised about an all-American heritage company doing business with a foreign partner. But this is the kind of pro-America deal we should embrace. It’s the opposite of offshoring and outsourcing. A successful company from a friendly nation wants to invest its dollars and its technology here in America. Japan and the U.S. are already working together in many ways to check China’s growing dominance, and preventing a Chinese stranglehold on global steel production is a key shared goal. Besides, Nippon is not a newcomer to our shores. The company has already successfully invested in and strengthened companies including Standard Steel in Burnham, Pennsylvania and Wheeling-Nippon Steel in Follansbee, West Virginia. Nippon’s own North American headquarters is in Houston, Texas.
President Trump has promised that “America is Back” for his second term. Welcoming this influx of new prosperity, technology and industrial strength will be a big leap in the right direction. President Biden made a brutal unforced error when he blocked this landmark deal. President Trump has a golden opportunity to notch an early win, save American jobs and keep our steel industry strong for decades to come.
Ward J “Tim” Timken, Jr
Retired Chairman, President and CEO
TimkenSteel
“Tim Timken retired as the Chairman, CEO, and President of TimkenSteel and previously served as the Executive Chairman and CEO of The Timken Company. Timken previously served as a board member of the American Iron and Steel Institute as well as on the board of the National Association of Manufacturers.”
