U.S. President Joe Biden formally blocked Nippon Steel’s proposed $14 billion takeover of U.S. Steel in a presidential order today. Biden said he made the decision on national security grounds, arguing that Japanese ownership of the U.S. company could weaken the domestic steel industry. (Washington Post)
Our Take
This move is in many ways the perfect encapsulation of the contradictions between Biden’s foreign policy and economic policies on display over the past four years. On one hand, Biden has taken a conventional approach to U.S. alliances and partnerships, ringing in his presidency with the declaration that “America is back.” In terms of security and diplomacy, he broadly followed through, consistently sending aid to Ukraine, shoring up alliances in East Asia and—more controversially—offering unwavering support to Israel in its war in Gaza against Hamas.
On the other hand, though, Biden also further entrenched the protectionist trade and economic policies introduced by President-elect Donald Trump during his first term. To be sure, the two used very different tools. While Trump championed tariffs in pursuit of reducing U.S. trade deficits, Biden used subsidies to promote investment in U.S. manufacturing industries as an important part of his broader “foreign policy for the middle class,” designed to win back blue-collar voters who supported Trump in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.