August 21st, 2025
The recent explosion at the Clairton Coke works that killed two workers has prompted new questions about the future of U.S. Steel in western Pennsylvania.
And while early statements since the explosion by U.S. Steel and Nippon have reaffirmed their commitment to Pennsylvania, the need for a concrete plan and timeline for investment in greener steel is needed now more than ever to reassure workers, their families, and the region.
Done right, the 100% purchase of U.S. Steel Corp. (USS) by Nippon Steel could secure for the long term Western Pennsylvania’s central place in the green steel industry of the future. While this will require several billion dollars, it’s not that much money given the scale of investment required to remain globally competitive in a capital intensive industry such as steel.
The funds required, for example, are a small fraction of the $90 billion in private (mostly) and public support pledged to new Pennsylvania data centers at the July Pittsburgh Energy and Innovation Summit organized by Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick and attended by President Trump. A greener steel industry will also produce more permanent, high-paid union jobs than data centers, albeit fewer than the current steel industry.
Nippon first bid to buy USS in December 2023, anticipating growing U.S. steel demand thanks to new federal investments in infrastructure, innovation, and climate. The Nippon bid loomed large in the 2024 presidential election. USS threatened to close the Pittsburgh steel works if the federal government blocked the deal. Both presidential candidates, vying for Western Pennsylvania votes, followed the lead of the United Steelworkers (USW) international union. They questioned and opposed the Nippon deal on the grounds of national security, worker guarantees, and job security.
After Trump became president again, positioning for the 2026 congressional midterms began almost immediately. By May 2025, his approval ratings falling, President Trump changed his mind about the Nippon deal. He approved the deal, including a (promised) $2.2 billion investment in the Mon Valley steelworks and a $5,000 bonus for each steelworker.
For established steelmaking regions to remain competitive and maintain employment for a significant share of their current workers, existing facilities must be modernized–and made safe as well as green.
New energy-efficient steelmaking is being implemented overseas. The vision for Western Pennsylvania must be for the Mon Valley Works to catch up with global leaders and then lead the transition to cleaner, greener steelmaking.
Since finalizing the deal in June, Nippon and USS have made promising public statements. Blast furnaces at the Mon Valley Works are to be revamped, and a hot strip rolling mill restored. The USS website describes new technology Nippon is developing, although without tying its application to Western Pennsylvania.
The Nippon deal grants the President an equity stake known as a “Golden Share” (a term coined in the United Kingdom during the Thatcher years, as public firms were privatized). This gives him the authority to appoint a board member and influence company decisions that impact domestic steel production and global competition.
The fly still flitting around in the ointment is that Southwest Pennsylvania workers and their labor union do not have a golden share – or any guarantees at all.
The United Steelworkers union noted the lack of information given to workers and the community about the deal, and the personal power given to Trump: “We will continue watching, holding Nippon to its commitments. And we will use the most powerful tool workers have against global corporations: collective bargaining….”
Western Pennsylvania and its steelworkers need clear, ironclad guarantees of investment. With the labor contract at the Mon Valley works expiring in September 2026, investment guarantees cannot be at the mercy of presidential flip-flopping. And they cannot leave open the possibility of investment shifting to Arkansas or of shuttering basic steelmaking in Southwestern Pennsylvania rather than modernizing it.
Enforceable guarantees against closing steel facilities in Pennsylvania are needed because the manufacturing investment and construction could go south again due to the gutting of federal tax credits for clean energy and economic uncertainty associated with federal tariff policies.
Renewal of the domestic steel industry should not only strengthen the economy of western Pennsylvania but also protect workers, communities, and the integrity of collective bargaining. The Nippon deal will only deliver these outcomes if public policy demands it.
Stephen Herzenberg is an economist at the Keystone Research Center and Co-Director of ReImagine Appalachia. Wendy Patton, a Research Fellow with ReImagine Appalachia, has served as a deputy director in business development for the Ohio Department of Development, Executive Assistant for Economic Development for the office of Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland