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The Trump administration’s recent approval of Nippon Steel’s takeover of U.S. Steel includes a provision that gives the U.S. government unusual control over a private company.
As part of the deal, now valued at almost $29 billion, Japan’s Nippon Steel agreed to give the U.S. government a “golden share” in U.S. Steel, of Pittsburgh. The acquisition, though President Donald Trump has preferred to label it a “partnership” or “investment,” is of particular interest to Arkansans because U.S. Steel owns Big River Steel in Mississippi County.
The provision means that Nippon Steel can’t move steel production or jobs out of the U.S. without presidential approval. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also noted “other protections regarding employee salaries, anti-dumping pricing, raw materials and sourcing outside the U.S., acquisitions, and more.”
Dave Stickler, CEO of Hybar Steel, told our Kyle Massey the purchase was “a great deal for everybody involved.” And though Stickler described himself as a “free trader,” he “noted that foreign governments subsidize, or even fully own, their countries’ steel mills.”
That said, we can’t help but wonder whether this move by the president is a sign of increasing government control of private business.
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