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単語数: 661語

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作成日: 2025/01/06 07:00

更新日: 2025/12/08 07:22

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NHK World spoke to a Japan-US relations expert about Biden&#039;s decision to block Nippon Steel&#039;s buyout of US Steel. The takeover plan was announced in December 2023 and quickly became a political football in the US presidential election.
                
Donald Trump, then a candidate, declared his opposition to the deal in January 2024: &quot;I think it&#039;s a horrible thing. When Japan buys US Steel, I would block it instantaneously. Absolutely.&quot;
                
In mid-March, President Joe Biden also expressed a negative view. He said in a statement on US Steel that it is &quot;vital for it to remain an American steel company that is domestically owned and operated.&quot;
                
Biden&#039;s comments were seen as an effort to win support from the United Steelworkers union, which opposed the sale. The union is a major vote-gathering and support base for the Democratic Party.
                
Biden followed this up with a speech at the union&#039;s headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in mid-April. He called US Steel an iconic American company: &quot;It should remain a totally American company -- American owned, American operated, by American union steelworkers -- the best in the world.&quot;
                
Vice President Kamala Harris echoed Biden&#039;s views in a speech in September.
                
It&#039;s normal that proposed major takeovers of US companies by foreign business are investigated in Washington. The Committee on Foreign Investment, or CFIUS, checks for potential risks to national security and compliance with antitrust laws. But it is rare for an incumbent president and vice president to oppose such deals before the screening is complete.
                
Donald Trump won the election and on December 2nd he repeated his opposition on social media: &quot;I will block this deal from happening. Buyer Beware!!!&quot;
                
The committee then informed Nippon Steel it was unable to reach a consensus. Biden was expected to announce a decision within 15 days of receiving the committee&#039;s report.
                
NHK World spoke to Joseph Kraft, who heads an advisory firm specializing in Japan-US relations. He said Biden&#039;s decision to block the deal was political, which was why CFIUS couldn&#039;t reach a consensus.
                
Kraft: In my opinion, it means that there isn&#039;t a serious national security issue, as the president noted. In my opinion, first of all, Japan is an ally of the US. Secondly, even if Nippon Steel were to wind down production, in a case of national security, the government can deem production to be resumed. So in my opinion, there really isn&#039;t a national security issue here and that is why CFIUS could not come to a consensus.
                
NHK World: So what does this rejection of Nippon Steel&#039;s buyout mean for Japanese and other foreign companies to invest in U.S. companies in the future?
                
Kraft: I don&#039;t think this is as big of a deal that some make it out to be. In other words, it&#039;s going to be more difficult in the future for foreign firms to make investments into the US, especially those who are aligned with the US. However, I think Nippon Steel could have taken different measures to alleviate some of that political risk. The most important thing for Nippon Steel was to get support or agreement from the union workers in this case, but they failed to do that. So this is a good example for foreign firms of what not to do in terms of politically sensitive transactions.
                
NHK World: You were saying that this is all political and it would have been better business-wise for the US and Japan, if this deal went through.
                
Kraft: The tragedy here is that this was a tremendously good deal for not only US Steel, but for America as well. Nippon Steel is buying this at a hefty premium. They&#039;re making significant capital investments, which is more likely to secure jobs than otherwise. So I think it would have been a win-win for both sides.
                
Kraft says, in the end, the people who suffer most will be the US steel workers. He adds the outcome won&#039;t be good for Japan-US relations either.

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