Diana Furchtgott-Roth, Andrew Hale
President Joe Biden’s decision to block Nippon Steel’s acquisition of U.S. Steel on national security grounds will have disastrous consequences for some Pennsylvania steel workers, who will lose their jobs and won’t be able to pay mortgages and support their families. The decision should be reconsidered.
The decision was made on national security grounds, and copied from a decision on blocking a Chinese acquisition of an American firm. The original title of the order, before the White House corrected it, was “Regarding the Acquisition of Certain Real Property of Cheyenne Leads by Mineone Cloud Computing Investment I L.P.” Being wrong is unfortunate, being incompetent is a crime.
It’s one thing to confront an enemy, and quite another to stab a friend in the back. Unlike China, Japan is one of America’s strongest allies. To say that “There is credible evidence that leads me to believe that (1) Nippon Steel…might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States” is not believable.
Japan is not only an ally but the largest foreign employer and investor in the United States. Japanese companies in the U.S. employ about a million Americans—half in manufacturing. Japan’s direct investment in America is over $700 billion. Americans are happy to drive Toyotas and Hondas made in America.
Nippon Acquisition of U.S. Steel
Just as Japanese companies Toyota and Honda are creating jobs, Nippon can do the same in the steel industry. Japan will keep U.S. Steel running, so America will continue to have steel production. The U.S. government needs to stand by our own workers in Pennsylvania and our ally, Japan.
A letter from 20 Pennsylvania local mayors to Biden supports the deal because Nippon Steel will increase investment in U.S. Steel, resulting in the creation of thousands more jobs.
With free trade, as in other economic policies, » Read More
https://www.heritage.org/international-economies/commentary/pennsylvania-workers-harmed-nippon-steel-rejection