Biden’s decision to block the purchase by Japan’s Nippon Steel of US Steel citing a “national security threat” smacks of antiquated thinking from a bygone era.
We knew it was coming, though hoped Biden would have punted on this one with just two weeks left in office.
Not that Trump will likely do anything different when he returns to the White House, already indicating he’s against Japan’s Nippon Steel buying U.S. Steel.
“Why would they want to sell U.S. Steel now when tariffs will make it a much more profitable and valuable company? Wouldn't it be nice to have U.S. Steel, once the greatest company in the World, lead the charge toward greatness again? It can all happen very quickly!” Trump blurted on Truth Social.
The president-elect’s misunderstanding of how tariffs work and the economy in general aside, Trump also perpetually lives in another century, much like Biden, when it comes to his thinking on this deal.
This isn’t the early 80’s, when Japan’s ascendency in the global car market had American automakers – producing clunkers that couldn’t compete – crying foul and warning that Japan was set to take over other aspects of American industry.
It’s 2025, a time when U.S. Steel, facing decades of stagnation and ruderless leadership, is being offered a lifeline by a Japanese company that has promised to keep the existing works open, as well as bonuses for labor and safety upgrades.
Last month, hundreds of U.S. Steel workers at a facility just outside of Pittsburgh demonstrated in favor of the Nippon deal.
Shouldn’t Biden take the wants and needs of workers into consideration instead of merely falling back on tired, jingoistic drivel about protecting national steel production as a matter of national security?
And if “national security” is the reason, why stop at steel?
Why not go “Full Trump” and spend the next two weeks “protecting” the American automotive industry by kicking out foreign car manufacturers who employ hundreds of thousands of Americans.
We’d get Biden’s reluctance to OK a U.S. Steel deal if it was a Chinese company angling to take it over.
But Japan is a trusted ally and economic partner whose promised investment in the U.S. Steel facilities would keep thousands of people employed.
