Taxpayer Watchdog Slams Blocking of Nippon–U.S. Steel Deal

For Immediate Release

Contact: Kara Zupkus, (224) 456-0257

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week, President Joe Biden blocked Nippon Steel’s acquisition of U.S. Steel, a deal that would have breathed new life, new capital, and fostered new innovation into the flagging steel giant. The administration predicated its decision on ill-defined national security–related concerns, despite ample evidence demonstrating that the deal would not harm U.S. interests.

David Williams, president of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, offered the following comment:

“This is cronyism at its worst. The story of the stymying of Nippon and U.S. Steel’s merger shows politicians bowing to a lobbying campaign from competitors in the steel industry and big labor. There is a flimsy national-security excuse cooked up to obscure the fact that Joe Biden wants to reward his friends. Millions of Americans and the economy will be hurt by this action.. It shows that the powerful succeed in their manipulations of public policy for their own benefit, to the detriment of the American workers who would have benefitted from Nippon as new management. Thousands of steel jobs are now in jeopardy because of this move by President Biden.

“Protectionism can take many forms, but it is hardly ever anything besides an exercise in cronyism and political gamesmanship. The system is a spoils system, and it is rigged to favor the companies that have the resources on hand to lobby for their own interests. In the end, it is not about increasing fairness, competition, or national security. It is about using the heavy hand of the state to assist economic interests, in the steel industry and big labor.

“The acquisition, if allowed to proceed, would make U.S. Steel more productive, modernized its technology, and enhanced competition in the wider industry. Perhaps this new competition is why steel industry lobbyists have been so intent on preventing the deal. Blocking these economic benefits for political reasons is a shameful way for Joe Biden to conclude his presidency.”

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Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis and dissemination of information on the government’s effects on the economy.