WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) strongly urges President Donald Trump to not approve Nippon Steel’s reported plans to invest in and acquire a stake in U.S. Steel, a move that would give partial ownership of a critical pillar of America’s industrial base to a foreign entity. Nippon Steel has a long history of dumping in the U.S. market—predatory trade actions that should not be rewarded with a stake in U.S. Steel.
Japan’s heavily subsidized steel industry has long sought to dominate global markets through predatory practices. Allowing this acquisition to proceed would have rewarded these tactics and set a dangerous precedent for other foreign buyers. A report released last year from Horizon Advisory detailed the longstanding relationship between Nippon Steel and the Chinese steel industry and the dangers it could pose to American national and economic security.
“President Trump was right to recognize the importance of tariffs in protecting our steel industry from foreign dependence,” said Zach Mottl, Chairman of CPA. “But allowing a foreign company with a long history of dumping in the U.S. market to make an investment in U.S. Steel contradicts that very principle. Nippon Steel is a state-backed predator that has a rap sheet of bad behavior, including unlawful dumping, that has weakened U.S. Steel, America’s domestic steel industry, and our national security.”
U.S. Steel is one of the most important domestic producers of steel, a material vital to the defense industrial base, critical infrastructure, and advanced manufacturing. Allowing a foreign company—even one from Japan—to have a stake in this essential American asset would undermine U.S. sovereignty, threaten supply chain security, and put American workers at risk.
“Japan would not and does not allow foreign investors, including U.S. investors, to own critical industries there,” Mottl continued. “If America is serious about economic security, we cannot allow a foreign entity to have a stake in a cornerstone of our domestic manufacturing base—especially as global steel markets remain distorted by foreign subsidies and overcapacity.”
In January, CPA applauded the Biden administration’s decision to block the acquisition after a December report from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) warned that the deal posed unacceptable risks to national security. The report found that foreign ownership of U.S. Steel could reduce domestic steel output, weaken critical industries, and erode America’s ability to produce essential materials for defense and infrastructure. Meanwhile, U.S. Steel executives stood to personally profit tens of millions of dollars from this disastrous deal, prioritizing their own financial interests over those of American workers and national security.
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