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.

McCormick stated that the deal would save 10,000 jobs and create an additional 10,000 construction jobs for building a new arc furnace.