Gary Mayor Eddie Melton has been supportive of a deal between Nippon and U.S. Steel for months, citing how it would benefit Gary Works. In August, it was announced that Nippon Steel would invest $300 million into the local facility. A Nippon executive later said the company would invest $1 billion into Gary Works.

US President Donald Trump touted a deal between Japan's Nippon Steel and America's US Steel, telling US steelworkers that "we're going to have a great partner." But he later said it has yet to be finalized.

The Japanese firm's planned acquisition of U.S. Steel, initially floated in 2023, divided the politically important state of Pennsylvania and its heavily unionized blue-collar workforce.