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[text/observer network xiong chaoran] since its announcement at the end of last year, the plan of nippon steel, japan's largest steel company, to acquire us steel has been repeatedly frustrated, causing strong backlash in the united states. it has not only become a key issue in the general election, but also caused setbacks in us-japan relations.

after the washington post quoted sources earlier this month as saying that the white house was about to block the acquisition on the grounds of "national security", this news did not "come as promised". on september 13 local time, the washington post again quoted sources and white house officials as saying that due to growing political and economic concerns after the cancellation of the transaction, although biden still opposed it, he would not take immediate action to block the acquisition. the pace of deliberation within the white house has slowed down and no announcement has ever been scheduled.

reuters quoted sources on september 14 local time as saying that the us national security panel responsible for reviewing the acquisition (referring to the us foreign investment committee, cfius) faces a september 23 deadline and needs to make recommendations on whether the white house should block the transaction.

at this time, former environment minister shinjiro koizumi, who has become one of the strong candidates for the presidency of the liberal democratic party of japan, also jumped out, not only urging japan and the united states not to confront each other on the issue of the steel industry, but also declaring that they should jointly deal with the "common challenge" from the chinese steel industry. in addition to him, candidates such as shigeru ishiba, sanae takaichi and taro kono also defended nippon steel on this issue.

shinjiro koizumi, the son of former japanese prime minister junichiro koizumi, is currently a popular candidate for the presidency of the liberal democratic party of japan. he mentioned the nippon steel acquisition in a campaign debate on september 14 and brought up china again.

he claimed: "if china produces cheap steel without renewable or clean energy and floods the global market, it will have the most adverse impact on us 'democratic countries' who abide by 'fair market rules'."

when asked about the deal again, koizumi said: "we are in the election period just like the united states, and during the election period, all kinds of ideas may arise. i think that overreacting to each of these ideas will make people question diplomatic judgment."

according to the mainichi shimbun and other japanese media, based on recent opinion polls, shinjiro koizumi, shigeru ishiba and sanae takaichi are the top candidates for the new ldp president. on september 6, shigeru ishiba, former secretary-general of the ldp, told reuters that the us move to block the acquisition of nippon steel was disturbing and any such move could undermine trust among allies.

another candidate, japan's minister of economic security sanae takaichi, also defended the acquisition at the same campaign debate on september 14. "it seems that they are using cfius to characterize this as an economic security issue." she added: "however, japan and the united states are allies, and the steel industry is about strengthening our common resilience."

earlier, the washington post quoted two sources familiar with the situation on september 4 local time as saying that the white house is about to announce that biden will block the acquisition on the grounds of "national security," and that political opposition from both parties in the united states to the $14.9 billion deal is growing. other sources told reuters that the decision could be announced as early as later this week, a move that could affect relations between the united states and its close ally japan.

but according to the latest reports from the washington post and reuters, biden's official announcement of the blockade may be delayed. the washington post bluntly stated that the white house had been preparing to announce the blockade of the acquisition last week, but white house officials now said that this decision is "unlikely to be made in the short term" and may not be made until after the election.

white house spokeswoman saloni sharma objected to the news of the "change of plan," saying the announcement was never imminent and that biden remained committed to waiting for the recommendations of the inter-agency review committee as required by the law.

the washington post reported that white house officials said they were waiting for the advice of cfius, an interdepartmental committee that reviews the impact of foreign transactions on national security. it is chaired by treasury secretary yellen and includes six other biden cabinet ministers and other political appointees who receive instructions from the president. reuters quoted sources as saying that cfius needs to make recommendations before the september 23 deadline to tell the white house whether the transaction should be blocked.

last december, nippon steel announced that it would acquire u.s. steel for nearly $15 billion. under the terms of the deal, u.s. steel would retain its name and pittsburgh headquarters. as soon as the news came out, it caused a stir in the u.s. government and the united steelworkers union was clearly opposed to it.

reuters pointed out that the acquisition faces joint opposition from both the democratic and republican parties. before biden withdrew from the election, he issued a statement on march 14 this year, clearly opposing nippon steel's acquisition of u.s. steel for the first time, and trump also made a clear promise that he would block the deal after winning the election. on september 2, local time, u.s. vice president and democratic presidential candidate harris also made her first statement on this blockbuster acquisition, saying that u.s. steel should continue to be "owned and operated by americans" and that it is vital for the country to keep "strong" american steel companies.

u.s. steel ceo david burritt warned in the wall street journal on september 4 local time that if the transaction was blocked, the company might be forced to close its plants and move its headquarters out of pittsburgh. he stressed that the deal was crucial to maintaining the competitiveness of u.s. steel's aging plants and employment.

"we continue to maintain that there are no national security issues with this transaction because japan is one of our strongest allies." a u.s. steel spokesman said: "we are very eager to explore all possible options under the law to ensure that this transaction is completed, which is the best future for pennsylvania, the u.s. steel manufacturing industry and all of our stakeholders."

at the same time, japan's largest business lobbying group, keidanren, made an "exception" call on september 6 to allow the us to conduct a fair review of the deal. nikkei asia and reuters also quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that on september 11, local time, nippon steel vice chairman and executive vice president moritaka hiroshi and us steel ceo burritt met with cfius officials, including several senior officials from the us treasury department, in washington.

it is worth mentioning that during this "tug of war", whether nippon steel wanted to save the acquisition or the biden administration wanted to prevent the acquisition, both sides played the "china card" and used china as an excuse.

on september 4, local time, nippon steel issued a statement that hyped up the "china threat" in order to complete the acquisition plan. the company claimed that the deal would enhance american steel companies and their domestic production capabilities, "bring cutting-edge technology to the united states, and ultimately make the u.s. industrial base and supply chain more resilient and better able to cope with future pressure from chinese competitors, thereby enhancing u.s. national security."

on september 5, local time, reuters exclusively disclosed a letter sent by the us government to nippon steel and u.s. steel a week earlier, further confirming that washington did issue a warning about the merger, citing the so-called "oversupply" of chinese steel.

according to the report, the cfius letter cited data from 2022, saying that china's crude steel production accounted for about 54% of the world's total, making it the largest exporter. cfius smeared that china "continued to use market-distorting government intervention measures" to export a large amount of excess steel, artificially lowering steel prices in the international market, and gaining a dominant position in the global steel market in an "unfair manner."

according to cfius, u.s. steel's active application for trade relief against foreign imports and nippon steel's occasional opposition to the u.s. relief efforts will pose "national security risks" and lead to a decline in domestic steel production capacity in the united states. the supply of steel is critical to key transportation, construction and agricultural projects.

since 2018, the us has selectively imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum products from global trading partners in the name of "national security" and used this to coerce trading partners into accepting unfair conditions, which has been opposed by many wto members. the relevant us measures have been ruled by the wto to violate wto rules. in may, the white house announced that this year it would increase the tariff rate on some steel and aluminum products under the "301 investigation" against china from 0-7.5% to 25%.

the spokesperson of china's ministry of commerce responded at the time that the us's accusations against china have no factual basis, and the relevant measures are typical unilateralism and protectionism, which china firmly opposes. the us has ignored the international economic and trade order and rules, politicized economic and trade issues, abused the so-called 301 tariff review procedure, and publicly demanded arbitrary adjustments to tariffs on chinese products to shift contradictions. this is a mistake again and again, and it does not help solve the problems faced by domestic industries in the united states. the us pressure on other countries to restrict chinese products will undermine the security and stability of the global industrial chain and supply chain.

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