Chicago – September 05, 2024
Nippon Steel’s planned $14.9 billion takeover of U.S. Steel has raised national security concerns in the U.S. A letter from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) warned that the deal could disrupt steel supply for key areas like transportation, infrastructure, construction, and agriculture, which are critical to national security.
The committee said the takeover could reduce domestic steel production and hurt the skilled workforce needed for these projects.
Nippon Steel responded, promising to invest billions to maintain and improve U.S. Steel facilities, arguing that the deal would actually increase U.S. steelmaking capacity. However, CFIUS remained concerned, citing Nippon’s growing operations in India and its history of resisting trade relief for the U.S. steel industry.
They feared this could make U.S. Steel less aggressive in fighting unfair trade practices. Nippon Steel assured that no production or jobs would be moved outside the U.S. and that U.S. Steel would remain in control of its trade decisions.
