Photo/Illutration A sign of Nippon Steel Corp. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Nippon Steel Corp. publicly released communications with the United Steelworkers, a trade union opposed to its acquisition of U.S. Steel, on Sept. 11 in another effort to win U.S. administration approval for the deal.

On a website jointly operated with U.S. Steel, Japan’s largest steelmaker published 20-plus emails and other correspondence the company has exchanged with the union’s leadership since it announced the purchase in December.

The released materials include emails to and from David McCall, president of the United Steelworkers, known as USW.

Media reports have said the Biden administration plans to block the acquisition based on national security concerns.

In a statement posted on the website, Nippon Steel said it had kept the correspondence confidential until now to create the “best possible environment for good-faith negotiations.”

However, the company said it decided to share the correspondence “in light of the public mischaracterizations of our communications with the USW and the commitments we have offered.”

The statement offered no details about these mischaracterizations.

“We hope that the disclosure of these materials will help U.S. Steel’s employees and other stakeholders understand the full set of facts about our engagements with the USW,” the statement said.

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