Leave U.S. Steel Alone
On Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris became the latest prominent political figure to agree that the federal government ought to block the sale of U.S. Steel to a Japanese competitor.
On Wednesday, reports surfaced that President Joe Biden is ready to do exactly that. Biden “is preparing to announce that he will formally block Nippon Steel’s proposed $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel,” The Washington Post reported, citing a number of anonymous sources.
If Biden moves to block Nippon’s purchase, he’ll likely be applauded by former president Donald Trump and Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R–Ohio), both of whom have called for the Biden administration to prevent the deal from going through. Vance has been particularly vocal about this issue since U.S. Steel announced that it would be acquired by Nippon Steel last year. (In a bit of circular authoritarian logic, he’s even asked the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate whether the deal could be blocked because U.S. Steel’s shareholders may not have been adequately scared of the federal government’s ability to block the deal.)
In short, the four most prominent politicians in the country (sorry, Tim Walz) agree: U.S. Steel, a private company, should not be allowed to conduct a transaction with another private company unless the federal government agrees.
This is absurd—particularly because the deal is obviously in the best interest of U.S. Steel.
“We’ll admit that the competition for the dumbest economic policy is fierce these days—with prices controls on food, a 10% across-the-board tariff, and national rent control on the table,” opined The Wall Street Journal‘s editorial board this week. “But opposition to the Nippon deal deserves careful consideration for this distinct dishonor given the deal’s manifest benefits and nonexistent harm.”
Indeed, Nippon’s plan to buy U.S. Steel gives the legacy st
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