Japan PM tells Biden of ‘strong’ concerns over blocked steel deal – Technologist

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told US President Joe Biden that his blocking of Nippon Steel’s takeover of US Steel raised “strong” concerns in both countries, local media reported Monday. on Monday, January 13.

The comments came in a three-way call with the president of the Philippines that according to the White House also touched on China’s “dangerous and unlawful” behaviour in the region.

Citing national security concerns, Biden nixed Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion acquisition of US Steel earlier this month, irking close ally Japan where the United States has some 54,000 military personnel.

“I said that strong voices of concerns are being raised not just in Japan but also in the US business community, and I urged (Biden) to dispel these feelings,” Ishiba told reporters after the call on Monday.

Blocking a takeover by a Japanese firm is highly unusual and both firms have launched legal action, accusing the outgoing US president of “illegal interference.”

Nippon Steel had touted the acquisition as a lifeline for US Steel, but opponents warned the Japanese giant would slash jobs – despite its assurances to the contrary. The takeover, which was announced in 2023, came in the run-up to last year’s US presidential election and proved a political flashpoint.

US Steel is based in the swing state of Pennsylvania and both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris opposed the transaction. Japanese firms invested almost $800 billion in the United States in 2023, more than any other country, and 14.3% of the total, according to official US data. US firms are also the biggest outside investors into Japan.

‘Big picture’

Japan is also a close strategic ally for Washington as it seeks to counter China asserting its presence in contested areas of the South China Sea. Both steel companies said Sunday that US authorities have extended the deadline for unwinding the acquisition until June 18.

Japan’s Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, who will attend Trump’s inauguration as US president on January 20, said it was important to value their bilateral ties. “It is important to appropriately deal with the issue while not undermining the big picture of the Japan-US alliance,” he said Sunday during a television debate. “I will ask the US side to remove concerns which are spreading in the business community.”

Iwaya also said that while in Washington he would seek talks with Marco Rubio, slated to be Trump’s Secretary of State, and to lay the groundwork for a meeting between Ishiba and Trump. Kyodo News cited government sources as saying that this could take place before mid-February.

US allies

During Trump’s first term, he and Japan’s then-prime minister Shinzo Abe, enjoyed warm relations. In December, Trump met Abe’s widow at Mar-a-Lago.

In recent years, with an eye on China, Washington has sought to improve strategic relations with both Japan and the Philippines as well as with South Korea. Biden hosted Marcos along with Ishiba’s predecessor Fumio Kishida at the White House last April.

On Monday, Biden, Marcos and Ishiba “discussed trilateral maritime security and economic cooperation, as well as the People’s Republic of China’s dangerous and unlawful behaviour in the South China Sea,” the White House said. “The three Leaders agreed on the importance of continued coordination to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific,” said a statement, which made no mention of the steel deal.

Biden also “highlighted the ‘historic progress’ made, particularly in maritime security, economic security and technological collaboration” between the three countries, the statement said.

Marcos’s office said that the three-way call on Monday morning was to “reaffirm their commitment to strengthening cooperation in areas such as economic growth, emerging technologies, climate action, clean energy and regional security.”