Kamala Harris clarifies her opposition to a US Steel sale to Japan's Nippon

PITTSBURGH — Kamala Harris was greeted on the tarmac outside Pittsburgh Wednesday not by executives of U.S. Steel but by union leaders.

She laughed with David McCall and Roxanne Brown, senior leaders of United Steelworkers International.

Hours later, during the first solo interview of her presidential campaign, Ms. Harris said it's essential that U.S. Steel remains American owned, even if the company's future is no longer in Pittsburgh.

"It's most important that we maintain America's ability to have American manufacturing of steel by American workers," she told MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle.

Ms. Ruhle had compared U.S. Steel leaving Pittsburgh to Philadelphia losing the Liberty Bell to Newark.

The iconic Pittsburgh steelmaker has been trying to finalize a sale to Japan's Nippon Steel for nearly a year, including a robust public relations campaign to convince politicians and workers that the $14.9 billion transaction is the best path forward.

Vice President Harris has voiced her opposition to the deal before, joining the ranks of Joe Biden and Donald Trump. But her remarks Wednesday offered the most detailed rationale to date.

"There is not a new industry that I can imagine that is not going to require steel," Ms. Harris said. "And having American workers in an American company manufacturing that steel for those new industries is going to be critically important, not only in terms of our economy, but also in the context of national security."

Her remarks come just weeks after U.S. Steel CEO David Burritt said the company may move out of Pittsburgh if a sale to Nippon Steel is blocked by the government.

Without foreign investment, U.S. Steel could be forced to close manufacturing centers in the region around Pittsburgh, Mr. Burritt said — a move that would put thousands of workers out of work.

The USW called the threats "reckless." Politicians including Sen. John Fetterman accused the company of bluffing. But analysts and investors said the threats were likely legitimate. "They'd be out of there in a nanosecond," said one investor speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a private matter.

The United Steelworkers have repeatedly said that Nippon Steel's promises do not guarantee their job security. Both Ms. Harris and Mr. Trump are courting the union vote in Pennsylvania. Some union members have told the Post-Gazette that they support the Nippon deal, but no communication has been sent to Mr. McCall to change his mind.

After an arbitration board ruled Wednesday that Nippon had satisfied the terms of the basic labor agreement between the union and U.S. Steel, Mr. McCall told members the Japanese steelmaker's commitment "remains as uncertain as ever."

The deal remains under consideration by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.