WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, President Biden announced he was blocking Nippon Steel from acquiring U.S. Steel. Jonathan Samford, the Global Business Alliance’s (GBA) president & CEO responded with the following:
“President Biden’s announcement to block this acquisition is barely news, given he committed to do so before the review process had even gotten underway. Japan is one of America’s strongest allies and Japanese companies have reinvested more into the U.S. economy and workforce than any other nation. I am concerned that today’s decision sends a powerful and negative signal to the rest of the world that America may no longer honor its longstanding open investment policy of treating major U.S. employers equally, regardless of where they are globally headquartered. To subvert national security laws to advance campaign pledges undermines the trust and economic cooperation that are central to our nation’s prosperity. International companies directly employ 8.4 million U.S. workers with high-quality jobs, including nearly three million U.S. manufacturing jobs. These investments are key drivers of America’s economic growth and job creation. Today’s decision sets a dangerous precedent and sends the wrong message to our friends and allies.”