(Reuters) – The United Steelworkers union has expressed concern over Nippon Steel’s latest proposal to give the U.S. government veto power over potential cuts to U.S. Steel’s production capacity if they approve a merger.
The union, which opposed U.S. Steel’s merger with the Japanese steel giant, said Nippon’s offer did not provide for long-term production retention or increased domestic capacity at the integrated facilities.
“Capacity protection only means rusting our equipment, allowing it to rust to the point where it can’t be restarted,” the union said in a statement on its website Thursday.
The proposal “is nothing more than a ‘Hail Mary’ pass intended to fall to the ground,” he added.
On Tuesday, Nippon Steel reportedly offered to give the government the final say on potential production cuts as part of its efforts to secure President Joe Biden’s approval of a purchase of the U.S. steelmaker.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has left the decision to approve or block the deal to Biden, who has until January 7 to decide on the deal.
If it does not take any action, this will result in automatic approval of the merger.
US Steel and Nippon Steel did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.