The Nippon Steel Protectionists – WSJ

The news that Japan’s Nippon Steel will purchase U.S. Steel has sent much of Washington into a political fit, and President Biden is now registering his great concern, teeing up a government investment committee to review the sale. Public service reminder: Japan is arguably America’s most important ally as a bulwark against China.

The White House on Thursday dispatched national economic adviser Lael Brainard to float a review of the deal by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or Cfius. The statement called U.S. Steel “a core component” of domestic steel production that is “critical to our national security.” Ms. Brainard also tossed an encomium to the United Steelworkers union: “President Biden believes union workers are the best workers in the world.”