The White House on Thursday said Nippon Steel Corp’s US$14.9 billion proposed acquisition of US Steel Corp deserves “serious scrutiny,” given the company’s core role in domestic steel production that is critical to the US’ national security.
In its first substantive public statement on the deal, the White House made clear that it supported a careful review of the transaction by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States and possibly antitrust authorities.
US National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard said US President Joe Biden welcomed manufacturers from the across the world investing in US jobs and workers.
Photo: Reuters
“However, he also believes the purchase of this iconic American-owned company by a foreign entity - even one from a close ally - appears to deserve serious scrutiny in terms of its potential impact on national security and supply chain reliability,” she said in a statement issued late on Thursday.
“This looks like the type of transaction that the interagency committee on foreign investment [US] Congress empowered and the Biden administration strengthened is set up to carefully investigate,” she said. “This administration will be ready to look carefully at the findings of any such investigation and to act if appropriate.”
The strongly worded White House statement comes amid growing criticism of the proposed deal by both Democratic and Republican lawmakers and the powerful United Steelworkers union, which represents workers at the third-largest US steel company.
Four Democratic and three Republican US senators have criticized the deal this week, citing national security concerns or raising questions about why the two companies did not consult US Steel’s main union.
Nippon said on Monday it would buy Pittsburgh-based US Steel for US$14.9 billion in cash, prevailing over rivals such as Cleveland-Cliffs, ArcelorMittal and Nucor in an auction for the 122-year-old steelmaker.
Brainard said Biden viewed US Steel as an integral part of the US’ “arsenal of democracy” during World War II and believed it remained “a core component of the overall domestic steel production that is critical to our national security.”
Biden has made restoring US manufacturing a central pillar of his presidency.
Brainard said Biden had also taken action to protect US steel companies against unfair and market-distorting trade practices in China and other countries, while supporting union jobs across the economy.
“That’s why his Administration is committed to doing everything it can to ensure steelworkers can compete on a level playing field, through policies that both combat unfair trade practices and recognize that a strong US domestic steel industry is vital to our economy and national security,” she said in the statement.
‘GREAT OPPRTUNITY’: The Paraguayan president made the remarks following Donald Trump’s tapping of several figures with deep Latin America expertise for his Cabinet Paraguay President Santiago Pena called US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming foreign policy team a “dream come true” as his nation stands to become more relevant in the next US administration. “It’s a great opportunity for us to advance very, very fast in the bilateral agenda on trade, security, rule of law and make Paraguay a much closer ally” to the US, Pena said in an interview in Washington ahead of Trump’s inauguration today. “One of the biggest challenges for Paraguay was that image of an island surrounded by land, a country that was isolated and not many people know about it,”
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
‘FIGHT TO THE END’: Attacking a court is ‘unprecedented’ in South Korea and those involved would likely face jail time, a South Korean political pundit said Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday stormed a Seoul court after a judge extended the impeached leader’s detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law. Tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday in a show of support for Yoon, who became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in a dawn raid last week. After the court extended his detention on Saturday, the president’s supporters smashed windows and doors as they rushed inside the building. Hundreds of police officers charged into the court, arresting dozens and denouncing an
RELEASE: The move follows Washington’s removal of Havana from its list of terrorism sponsors. Most of the inmates were arrested for taking part in anti-government protests Cuba has freed 127 prisoners, including opposition leader Jose Daniel Ferrer, in a landmark deal with departing US President Joe Biden that has led to emotional reunions across the communist island. Ferrer, 54, is the most high-profile of the prisoners that Cuba began freeing on Wednesday after Biden agreed to remove the country from Washington’s list of terrorism sponsors — part of an eleventh-hour bid to cement his legacy before handing power on Monday to US president-elect Donald Trump. “Thank God we have him home,” Nelva Ortega said of her husband, Ferrer, who has been in and out of prison for the
RSS