Mike Pompeo, who served as Secretary of State during Trump's first administration, backed Japanese Nippon Steel Corp.’s attempted acquisition of U.S. Steel, sharply veering from President-elect Trump, who vowed to block the deal.
"Blocking this purchase would undermine America’s national security by diminishing our ability to maintain robust and competitive domestic steel production," Pompeo wrote in an op-ed published by The Wall Street Journal Friday.
Reuters reported in July that Nippon hired Pompeo to help lobby for the acquisition.
The Japanese firm announced last year that it would acquire U.S. Steel Corp. in a $14.9 billion deal — a move that was criticized by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Nippon asked in September to refile its acquisition bid, a move that put off a decision on approving the deal until after the presidential election.
Pompeo continued, writing that blocking the deal would "reinforce, not challenge China's steel dominance." The Economist in September reported that China "makes as much steel as the rest of the world combined" each year.
"If the U.S. blocks this deal, China will perceive it as proof of a troubled U.S.-Japan relationship. It would be a gift to the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda machine, fueling false narratives about the hypocrisy of the U.S. and the empty promises we offer our allies," he wrote, adding that the deal would allow the U.S. to make steel domestically, which, he argues, is what "we need."
He stated that the acquisition would ultimately make the domestic steel industry more competitive while increasing national security and better serving steelworkers. Though, the deal has faced scrutiny from the United Steelworkers union.
“Our concerns are rooted in a wealth of evidence. Nippon Steel has a long history of strategically importing both substrate and finished products into the United States and countries as it offloads its 16 million tons of over-capacity in Japan and China, all to the detriment of American steelmaking and American steelworkers,” David McCall, international president for United Steelworkers, wrote earlier this year.
Trump in a post on Truth Social earlier this month said he was "totally against" the acquisition from Nippon of U.S. Steel.
“I am totally against the once great and powerful U.S. Steel being bought by a foreign company, in this case Nippon Steel of Japan,” Trump wrote, adding that “we will make U.S. Steel Strong and Great Again” through tax incentives and tariffs.
Still, the president-elect's latest tariff threats, which include enacting tariffs of 25 percent on all Canadian and Mexican goods, and adding another 10 percent to the tariff to all Chinese goods, have earned the ire of the country’s trading partners and concern from experts.
