The president is using executive power to block the sale of US Steel on national security grounds, saying the purchase would put US Steel “under foreign control and create risk for our national security and our critical supply chains.”
Let’s look at facts instead of fears.
Fact: Nippon Steel is a Japanese company.
Fact: Japan is an ally and has been for over seven decades.
Fact: Japan has over $720 billion invested in the United States, topping the list of nations where it does business.
Fact: The sale of US Steel was unanimously approved by the boards of both companies.
Fact: Nippon Steel pledged it would spend at least $1 billion to upgrade facilities in the Mon Valley, promised no job cuts, planned to spend $100 million on bonuses for about 20,000 US Steel employees and offered the federal government 10 years of veto power over any production cuts.
None of it was good enough for the president of the United Steelworkers who refused to negotiate and immediately rejected every commitment. The union leader also ignored growing support for the sale from rank-and-file workers.
Now the future of the Mon Valley is in doubt.
US Steel has warned jobs will be lost if the deal fell through and its headquarters could be moved.
The president has turned down a viable offer from a company wanting to invest in Pittsburgh steelmaking for a company with no plans to bring the Mon Valley Works up to date.
That makes no sense and it is clearly the wrong decision.