MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
More than a century ago, Andrew Carnegie and J.P. Morgan started a steel company. Today, President Biden said that storied business should remain under U.S. control. Biden formally blocked a Japanese company from acquiring U.S. Steel. White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre says Biden believes domestic control of the company is vital for national security.
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KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: The president took action to block the deal, so U.S. Steel remains a proud American company, American-owned, American-operated by American union steel workers, and the best in the world.
KELLY: President Biden's order is an extraordinary move, though, especially since Japan is a key U.S. ally. NPR's Scott Horsley is here to talk it through. Hey, there.
SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE: Hi, Mary Louise.
KELLY: I want to start by noting there's something unusual here, and it is that this is that rare issue on which President Biden and President-elect Trump agree. Why?
HORSLEY: Yeah. U.S. Steel is 124 years old. It's pretty much synonymous with the American steel industry and all the symbolism and nostalgia that comes with that. And significantly, the company's based in Pennsylvania, which we know was an important swing state in the November election. The steel workers' union opposed the company's sale to Nippon Steel. The union worried it would provide a back door to bring cheap Japanese steel into the U.S. market.
Don Furko is a long-time steelworker and former president of his union local. He didn't want to see his company fall under Japanese control.
DON FURKO: This is the birthplace of steel and U.S. Steel, and I think that both should - should survive.
HORSLEY: Now, Nippon Steel had offered assurances that it would honor the union's contract and maintain production levels here in the U.S., but those were not enough to sway the president's decision.
KELLY: Here's the other thing, though, Scott. This was not a hostile takeover. The company, U.S. Steel, actually wanted this deal.
HORSLEY: Absolutely. And keep in mind, U.S. Steel is no longer the industrial giant it was back in Carnegie and Morgan's day. Today, it's only the third-biggest steelmaker in the U.S. - Nippon Steel is considerably larger. And Nippon had promised to invest almost $3 billion to upgrade some of U.S. Steel's aging blast furnaces in Pennsylvania's Mon Valley and in Indiana. Without that money, U.S. Steel warns it may shift its focus to non-union steel plants in places like Arkansas. That's why some employees, like Kevin Prickett, wanted to see this deal go through.
KEVIN PRICKETT: I think, for the viability of these facilities, for, you know, future employment and just for the strength of the communities in the Mon Valley, I think it needs to happen. Because if U.S. Steel were to shut down the Mon Valley, it would be a huge impact on these communities.
HORSLEY: U.S. Steel has even threatened to move its headquarters out of Pittsburgh if this deal falls apart. The company said today it's dismayed by the president's decision and will, quote, "take all appropriate action to protect its legal rights."
KELLY: Oh, that's interesting. What could that fight look like?
HORSLEY: U.S. Steel suggested it might challenge the president's decision on procedural grounds. You know, there is an interagency committee that oversees foreign investment in the U.S. That committee reportedly deadlocked on whether this deal actually poses a threat to national security, although Biden asserted that it would be. Traditionally, the U.S. has been very open to foreign investment like this. Jonathan Samford heads a trade group of global companies that operate in the U.S. He notes those companies employ nearly 8 1/2 million people in this country.
JONATHAN SAMFORD: A lot of these jobs are in manufacturing. These are jobs that pay really well. And so I think it's really disconcerting to see today's decision come out with virtually no justification for the national security concerns.
HORSLEY: Samford says today's move sends the wrong message to friends and allies that this kind of investment may not be so welcome anymore.
KELLY: NPR's Scott Horsley, reporting there on President Biden's move formally blocking Nippon Steel from acquiring U.S. Steel. Thank you, Scott.
HORSLEY: You're welcome.
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