President Joe Biden shocked the financial markets, his own national security leadership and America’s alliance partners with a ham-fisted decision to block Nippon Steel’s takeover of U.S. Steel last Friday. Nippon’s bid has been on ice since it was announced last year, held up by the vagaries of a presidential election that largely centered on pocketbook issues for voters.
Such electoral machinations were always going to be present in the Japanese acquisition of a dying yet iconic American steelmaker. Indeed, both Biden and returning President Trump had said they would scuttle the deal, offering the kind of populist rhetoric one would expect from the bully pulpit where Pennsylvania jobs were on the line in the all-important swing state.
Yet, Biden is no longer running, nor is he ever expected to return to public life. During this lame duck period, he could have secured a legacy of putting country ahead of politics and economic prudence over populist cosplay. He could have demonstrated that America is open to business – especially with our most important allies, and particularly in industries like steelmaking that are critically important for domestic security and yet underfunded and uncompetitive in global markets.
Continue reading the entire piece here at RealClearPennsylvania
______________________
Danny Crichton is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute
Photo by Gerhard Joren/LightRocket via Getty Images