WASHINGTON– The president of the United States, Joe Biden, stated that he opposes the sale of the steel company US Steel to the Japanese company Nippon Steel.
The announcement, in the middle of the election campaign in the United States, could upset Tokyo, one of its main allies.
“It is important that we maintain strong American steel companies, powered by American workers. I told our steelworkers that I support them, and I mean it,” Biden said in a statement.
US Steel, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (northeast), “has been an iconic American steel company for more than a century, and it is vital that it remains an American steel company, operating in the country and with local ownership,” the president added. , of the Democratic Party, in a statement.
Biden’s statements come before Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s state visit to the White House, scheduled for April 10.
They also occur in the middle of the electoral campaign towards the November presidential elections, in which Biden competes for the workers’ vote against the Republican Donald Trump.
Trump, who, barring any surprise, will be Biden’s adversary in November, has promised that he would block the operation if he returns to the White House, according to comments reported by the American press.
Partnership would be a success, say both parties
The two groups reacted in a joint statement, stating that they “are confident that (their) partnership (will be) a success” for jobs and the supply chain in the United States, “while strengthening the competitiveness of the American economy and creating resistance to China’s threats.
They noted that the Japanese group had “clearly indicated that it would make no job cuts, plant closures or production transfers as a result of this transaction.”
“We will continue to defend this transaction and we trust that an impartial and considered review will lead to its approval,” they concluded.
US Steel shares closed lower on Thursday, falling 3.36% on Wall Street.
The $14.1 billion purchase agreement, announced last December, remains under review by United States federal security authorities.
At the time, the White House warned that the operation must undergo careful analysis because it could have implications for national security.
The unions were furious with the proposed agreement, despite the companies’ promise to honor the contracts agreed between the workers and the American company.
In December, the United Steelworkers (USW) steel union called the deal a “greedy and short-sighted attitude” on the part of US Steel, and questioned the Japanese company’s ability to fulfill contracts.
Now, the union “welcomes” Biden’s statement, said David McCall, its president for international relations.
In his opinion, foreign ownership of US Steel would make US defense and critical infrastructure “vulnerable.”
“The president’s statements should put an end to the debate,” he declared, while saying he was “grateful” to Biden “for his unfailing support.”
Source: With information from AFP.
