Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Check out our 2024 voter guide for Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana >>

Holcomb: You can't be 'isolationist' about U.S. Steel acquisition by Japanese company

The U.S. Steel Gary Works plant, seen from afar.
Eric Allix Rogers
/
Flickr
U.S. Steel has three facilities in Indiana, including its largest manufacturing plant, which is in Gary.

Gov. Eric Holcomb said the sale of U.S. Steel to a Japanese company reflects the need to remain competitive in a global marketplace.

U.S. Steel has three facilities in Indiana, including its largest manufacturing plant, which is in Gary.

Lawmakers at both the state and federal level expressed disappointment at the company’s sale to Nippon Steel Corporation. U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan (D-Highland) accused the Japanese company, which he said has “a history of untrustworthy trade actions,” of exploiting American workers.

Holcomb said the sale is a reminder that an “isolationist” perspective doesn’t work.

“You have to be able to compete on a global stage if you want to stay in business and grow,” Holcomb said.

Join the conversation and sign up for the Indiana Two-Way. Text "Indiana" to 73224. Your comments and questions in response to our weekly text help us find the answers you need on statewide issues, including our project Civically, Indiana.

Holcomb said he’s still “sifting through” the finer details of what the sale will mean for contracts U.S. Steel has in place with the United Steelworkers union.

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

Tags
Brandon Smith has covered the Statehouse for Indiana Public Broadcasting for more than a decade, spanning three governors and a dozen legislative sessions. He's also the host of Indiana Week in Review, a weekly political and policy discussion program seen and heard across the state. He previously worked at KBIA in Columbia, Missouri and WSPY in Plano, Illinois. His first job in radio was in another state capitol - Jefferson City, Missouri - as a reporter for three stations around the Show-Me State.