My Take | Steel firm sale to Japan a threat to US national security, really?
Sorry saga of collapsed deal between US Steel and Nippon Steel shows ‘friendshoring’ in America may mean just pain for friends and allies
The sale of a mid-sized steel company in the United States to another one from a close ally is now considered a national security threat. This is not political satire, but is so according to both the outgoing Democrat president and the incoming Republican one.
It seems that nowadays, any significant business decision, whether foreign or domestic, cannot be made without seriously considering all the political factors from Washington. Isn’t that what they call state capitalism in China?
US Steel and its Japanese suitor Nippon Steel are suing against the decision by retiring President Joe Biden to block the sale, while Donald Trump has said he also objects to such a sale. Both consider the domestic supply of steel a matter of national security.
So US Steel’s chief executive has countered that it’s actually a matter of acute national security that the sale goes ahead – because China doesn’t want it to go through!
Seriously, I am not making this up. The guy even wrote a long opinion piece in The New York Times to make the preposterous claim when his company, once a symbol of American industrial might, doesn’t even make it into the top 20 steel companies’ list from around the world.
Titled “China wants this deal to fail. Don’t let that happen”, David Burritt wrote: “The deal would strengthen America’s global position by deepening an alliance with one of our strongest allies and allow us to better fight China’s blatant, unchecked manipulation of the market.
“Our competitors in China are paying as much attention to this transaction as we are, and they are hoping it fails. With this deal, our workers’ jobs would be more secure, our customers would be better served and China’s domination of global steel production would be weakened. Without it, we would become more vulnerable.”
