Nippon Steel Deal Consistent with Conservative Economic Principles

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): There has been much controversy over Nippon Steel’s proposal to buy U.S. Steel, based in Pittsburgh. The Biden administration and the Trump campaign have made noises that they don’t favor the deal, yet they would be smart to support it, both to bolster foreign investment in U.S. companies and save American jobs. A failure of this deal will continue to make American automobile manufacturers reliant on Chinese-made steel to make American cars.

The Nippon Steel deal is consistent with free market principles that Republicans and rational Democrats have embraced in the past. Sadly, some are playing politics with the deal to pretend they are defending American manufacturing when the opposite is true. If this deal falls through, American steel manufacturing will be in decline and Americans will be more reliant on China to produce steel for American consumers and auto manufacturers.

There are no rational arguments that foreign governments will control U.S. steel production because of this deal. Nippon Steel is a publicly traded company based in Japan. The company is owned and controlled by its shareholders, removing any objection that the Japanese government is interfering in American steel production. The company is global with manufacturing spanning 15 countries and a long history of success. Its U.S. headquarters is in Texas, and the company has already invested in Standard Steel in Pennsylvania — making the U.S. Steel proposal less scary for workers at the company who can see the success of Standard Steel.

Courtesy: www.washingtontimes.com