Ginny Roscamp, Senior Press Secretary, Federal Communications, Sierra Club, ginny.roscamp@sierraclub.org
PITTSBURGH, PA — At a rally outside of Pittsburgh today, President Trump hailed the deal struck between Nippon Steel Company and U.S. Steel Company as “a blockbuster agreement” without addressing the widespread health harms caused by pollution from the steel industry.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) greenlit Nippon Steel’s acquisition of U.S. Steel on May 23, overturning President Trump and President Biden’s previous opposition, during a second review done at the behest of the Trump administration. The exact terms under which the committee approved the deal last week is not yet public, but Nippon Steel has promised to invest $14 billion in the U.S. as part of the acquisition. To formally approve the deal, President Trump will need to sign an executive order overturning one by former President Biden that had blocked the deal.
The Sierra Club has consistently opposed the acquisition, calling out Nippon Steel’s promise that if the deal were approved, it would extend the use of pollution-intensive coal-based iron and steelmaking at U.S. Steel facilities across the country. Those plans were publicly announced in 2024 in a letter sent to U.S. Steel employees.
“Residents of Mon Valley have long paid the price for pollution and disinvestment. Nippon Steel must guarantee that developments at U.S. Steel facilities in western Pennsylvania include them, not as collateral, but as co-authors of a just, equitable manufacturing renaissance,” said Qiyam Ansari, Western Pennsylvania Field Organizer for the Sierra Club’s Pennsylvania Chapter and resident of West Mifflin. “President Trump said he has ‘no doubt’ Nippon Steel would do right by the workers. But Nippon Steel’s public record shows a preference for centralized control and limited engagement with U.S. labor and community leaders. Without firm, transparent, and enforceable commitments to reinvestment in local communities, union protections, community engagement, and a clean steel transition, this deal could export profits while leaving local communities with more pollution.”
The Sierra Club is calling on Nippon Steel to use the $14 billion investment to address the staggering health and climate consequences of coal-based steelmaking. Recent EPA estimates show that pollution from steel facilities in the U.S. inflicts between $7 and $13 billion in health-related costs every year, including premature deaths and chronic illness. Residents of Mon Valley, Pennsylvania — the site of Mon Valley Works, a major complex of U.S. Steel facilities — have long suffered from elevated rates of asthma, respiratory illness, and premature death due to chronic air and water pollution.
The Sierra Club remains deeply concerned that Nippon Steel will overlook these urgent public health concerns — as the company has not met with local communities where U.S. Steel facilities are located, including in Mon Valley.
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.