By blocking the takeover of US Steel by Nippon Steel, Joe Biden is playing into Beijing’s hands

The facts –

Despite the US Steel episode, experts expect a resumption of Japanese investments in the United States after Donald Trump takes office on January 20. The threat of an increase in customs duties should encourage Japanese companies to favor investments and production there, to the detriment in particular of China. In December, Masayoshi Son, the boss of SoftBank, committed to investing $100 billion in the United States over the next four years.

Joe Biden has decided to block the acquisition of the steel group US Steel by the Japanese Nippon Steel, believing that it “would pose a risk to national security”. “I will act without hesitation to protect our national security and our supply chains,” he declared on Friday to justify his decision. The Japanese government responded by saying that the argument was “difficult to understand” and that the choice could have a negative impact on future trade relations between the two countries.