U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday officially blocked Nippon Steel's proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel on national security grounds, which is a decision that could hurt the U.S. economy, said a U.S. scholar.
Biden said Friday that he had decided to block the 14.1 billion U.S. dollars sale of U.S. Steel to the Japanese steel giant, while urging the two steelmakers to "fully and permanently" abandon their plan.
In late 2023, Nippon Steel announced plans to acquire U.S. Steel, which is headquartered in Pennsylvania, one of the key swing states in the 2024 presidential election. Before Biden withdrew from the race, both he and his then-opponent, Donald Trump, had expressed opposition to the acquisition.
In an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN), Nicholas Economides, an economics professor from New York University, also talked about President-elect Donald Trump's possible plans once he takes office later this month.
"It is very possible, I might say it's even likely, there will be tariffs and tax incentives and other measures that President-elect Trump will initiate, but I think that overall at present, this is in my opinion, a bad move for the United States. If U.S. steel would accept the merger, then we would have a stronger company - the Japanese and the American company together," said the professor.
As President-elect Donald Trump is only weeks away from taking office, many believe Trump's mantra of tariffs and "America First" are just one big negotiating ploy.
Economides pointed out that tariff is one of the methods Trump uses to protect certain industries of the United States.
"To a large extent, it could be a negotiating tactic. In some cases, though, and specifically specific industries, it might not be a negotiating tactic. Tariffs might be a way to protect the particular industries that Trump thinks are very important for the United States," he said.
Biden's decision to block Nippon Steel's proposed acquisition of US steel plant might hurt economy: scholar
