US Steel CEO blames President Biden for failing America and emboldening foreign adversaries after his administration blocked the proposed acquisition of 14 billion dollars of US Steel by the Japanese company Nippon Steel.
US Steel CEO David Burritt told Fox Business correspondent Lydia Hu in an interview Monday that Biden showed the world community that America has no respect for the rule of law with your management of the missing agreement.
“We did everything right as a company with Nippon,” Burritt said. “We did everything right. The government failed us. They failed because they didn’t follow the process. And we’re going to right that wrong. They failed our workers. They failed our communities. They failed our country. They failed our country. Asia’s best ally And they have emboldened China by not following the rule of law.”
BIDEN OFFICIALLY BLOCKS US STEEL’S NIPPON DAM
“CFIUS (Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States) is supposed to be robust and confidential, and we found that it was neither robust nor confidential,” Burritt continued. “And unfortunately, the president of the United States shamefully and shamefully tainted the CFIUS process from the very beginning. We respected the process, and it was a mistake we made. We were owed a process, and it sends a message terrible to our workers and a terrible message to our best allies around the world that our country does not respect the rule of law.”
Before blocking it, Biden voiced his opposition to the deal, arguing that US Steel should remain an American-owned and operated company. The Justice Department of the Biden-Harris administration investigated the deal on antitrust grounds, while the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) investigated the national security implications of the deal.
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His decision to block it came shortly after Burritt publicly warned that he would sign it acquisition If it fails, the company would likely be forced to close steel mills in Pennsylvania’s Monongahela Valley and Gary, Indiana, which were slated for a $3 billion cash upgrade from Nippon after the completion of the sale The investment, which was based on the ongoing deal, was needed for the company to remain economically competitive with international rivals and to keep workers employed, he said.
“We wouldn’t do this if the deal falls through,” Burritt said The Wall Street Journal in an interview at the time. “I don’t have the money.”
Burritt also noted that if Mon Valley Works closes, the company would likely look to relocate headquarters in Pittsburgh to a southern location, where an increasing portion of the company’s production has been moved.
Nippon Steel and US Steel criticized Biden’s decision in a joint statement published Friday, writing that the president’s involvement “reflects a clear violation of due process and the law.” The companies also accused the process of being “manipulated to advance Biden’s political agenda.”
The statement also rejected Biden’s claims of national security concerns and announced that US Steel plans to take legal action against the government to “protect our legal rights.”
“The president’s statement and order present no credible evidence of a national security issue, making it clear that this was a political decision. After President Biden’s decision, we have no choice but to take all appropriate measures to protect our legal rights,” they wrote.
“We will never give up doing business in the US for the benefit of US domestic stakeholders,” the statement continued. “We continue to believe that a partnership between Nippon Steel and US Steel is the best way to ensure that US Steel, and in particular its facilities represented by USW, can compete and thrive in the future, and we will work closely with stakeholders, including Japanese government officials and US allies and partners, to take all necessary steps to protect our legal rights and secure that future.”
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who Nippon Steel hired last year to advise on the deal, expressed their support for the acquisition before Biden’s decision to block him. He also blamed the alleged politicization of CFIUS for closing the deal.
“Unfortunately, this committee charged with assessing national security risks became politicized,” Pompeo told “Kudlow.” “Rather than just looking at the national security risks, of course there are none — it’s an ally, Japan, that will invest in America, make steel here in America, build in America.”
Pompeo urged the incoming Trump administration, which has also expressed opposition to the deal, to “reconsider the workers of Pennsylvania, who are almost all in favor of this transaction going forward, everyone but senior liberal union leadership…
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“It’s good for the community,” he said, “and the Mon Valley.”
US steel shareholders voted in favor the $14.9 billion deal with Nippon Steel in April, with 98% of shareholders voting in favor of the deal.
Eric Revell of Fox Business contributed to this report.