Lael Brainard, director of the National Economic Council, said in a statement Thursday night that the acquisition of the United States Steel Corporation by a foreign company needs to be scrutinized for national security and supply chain purposes.
The Japanese Nippon Steel Corporation (NSC) announced Monday it will acquire U.S. Steel for $55.00 per share while assuming the company’s debts, in total paying $14.9 billion, or 40% more than the company’s stock price at the end of the previous week. Brainard noted that the deal is a perfect candidate to be investigated by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and that the Biden administration would act according to the committee’s findings, according to statements from the White House.
“The President believes U.S. Steel was an integral part of our arsenal of democracy in WWII and remains a core component of the overall domestic steel production that is critical to our national security,” Brainard said in the statement. “And he has been clear that we welcome manufacturers across the world building their futures in America with American jobs and American workers. 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.”
Three Republican senators sent a letter on Tuesday to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urging the Biden administration to block the deal, saying that it posed a national security threat due to a foreign country taking over control of a large portion of U.S. Steel production.
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“When the acquisition was announced on Monday, December 18th, U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel (NSC) proactively notified the U.S. Treasury Department, which chairs CFIUS, that they would voluntarily file for review by CFIUS,” U.S. Steel said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “We respect the CFIUS process and will work with the appropriate parties for a thorough and successful review.”
Brainard emphasized the president’s support for the United Steelworkers (USW) union in his statements, noting that Biden was committed to a strong U.S. domestic steel industry, according to the White House. The USW criticized the deal following its announcement, calling it “greedy” and “shortsighted,” and claimed U.S. Steel did not reach out for the USW’s input during the acquisition process.
“The USW welcomes Brainard’s statement and the administration’s assessment that the announced sale of U.S. Steel to Japanese-owned Nippon Steel deserves ‘serious scrutiny’ to determine its larger implications for our national security and critical supply chains,” David McCall, president of USW, said in response to the White House’s statements. “Our union shares many of the concerns expressed in today’s White House statement, including how this deal may impact the future of domestic steel production.”
The White House and NSC did not immediately respond to a request to comment from the DCNF.
Republished with permission from The Daily Caller News Foundation.
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