It’s not a shock that partisan politics are visible in October of a presidential election year. It would, however, be shocking if partisanship is allowed to bend an important national security decision—a decision that will sound loudly for U.S. strategic and economic interests, long after the current political roar fades.
The decision concerns Nippon Steel’s $14 billion agreement to buy U.S. Steel, announced late last year. This would be an unremarkable corporate transaction—it ranks only number ten on a mergers and acquisitions list for 2023—were it not for the international angle.
Yes, the U.S. and Japan are close allies, and yes, the Department of Defense is actively soliciting Japanese help on weapons and logistics. Yet nevertheless, the purchase is on hold, pending a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a federal interagency group.
The guiding language of CFIUS is clear: Its mandate is to examine national security concerns, not political footballs. To that end, the guidance mentions “national security” ten times, while “politics,” “political parties,” and “elections” get zero mentions.
Given the strategic closeness of the U.S. and Japan, the CFIUS review ought to be a breeze. But now come the headwinds of, yes, politics.
An October 11 headline in Bloomberg sets the scene: “Biden Aides Talk Trade and Labor With Pennsylvania Steelworkers: Stop in key presidential battleground is billed as official.” We can look at those last words, billed as official, and see an arched eyebrow.
The article continues: “It was billed as an official visit, not a campaign stop, but the political implications were clear as Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Julie Su, the acting Secretary of Labor, walked the floor at a Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. steel plant in Coatesville, about 40 miles west of Philadelphia… The subtext of the election less than a month away was unmistakable.”
Pennsylvania is, of course, a key swing state in the upcoming election, and Cleveland-Cliffs is a rival to Nippon; if the Nippon deal falls through, Cleveland-Cliffs would be the beneficiary.
To be sure, presidential politicking and corporate maneuvering are interesting. But now we’ve gone far afield from the legal mission of CFIUS. As the U.S. Trade Representative, Tai is one of nine voting members of CFIUS, and yet she has wandered into partisanship; she even tweeted during her visit to the Pennsylvania factory, “Under @POTUS and @VP’s leadership we are defending workers’ rights, growing the middle class, and building a stronger and more resilient economy for all.”
Given the optics of her visit, as well as her words, many observers think Tai is playing favorites, thereby tainting her CFIUS duty. “I find it horribly inappropriate,” said Scott Lincicome, head of the Cato Institute’s Center for Trade Policy Studies.
After all, American institutions are about more than partisanship. From the nation’s founding, it’s been recognized that many decisions should be insulated from the hurly-burly of electioneering. That’s why we have federal courts, the civil service, and the military, among many non-partisan institutions.
Yes, the voters can change policy, and yet the Constitution requires that change be made through a due process of deliberation. In the meantime, decision-makers should abide by the rules as they are written. So perhaps Tai should reconsider her role with CFIUS.
We might keep in mind, too, that the U.S.-Japan partnership has transcended any single presidency. Back in 1951, the two countries signed a Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security; the preamble includes these joint goals: “encourage closer economic cooperation” and “promote conditions of economic stability and well-being in their countries.”
That was during the administration of our 33rd president, Harry Truman.
Today, one top appointee of the 46th president, Joe Biden, argues for further extending this historic relationship into defense-industry work. That would be Rahm Emanuel, America’s ambassador to Japan, who writes, “Japan—a steadfast security partner for more than 60 years—and its industrial giants have consistently demonstrated their capacity to deliver high-quality work ahead of schedule and within budget.”
We can see: The Nippon deal poses no security hazard. Indeed, its completion opens the prospect of greater economic opportunities, in Pennsylvania and across the country.
At a time when the People’s Republic of China poses a strategic and economic threat to both countries, the U.S. and Japan should be drawing together more closely, not letting politics push them apart.
Of course, that manifest reality might not become fully apparent until after the election.
James P. Pinkerton is a longtime columnist, author, and political analyst. He worked in the White House policy offices of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush and in the 1980, 1984, 1988, and 1992 presidential campaigns.