Mike Pence Argues Nippon Steel’s Purchase of U.S. Steel Is Necessary for Competing against China

Former vice president Mike Pence supports a Japanese steel company’s purchase of the iconic American steel producer U.S. Steel because he believes it will prevent the world from becoming even more reliant on cheap Chinese steel exports.

National Review has learned that Pence will deliver a speech Thursday at the Japan-America Society of Indiana to make the national-security case for allowing Nippon Steel to acquire U.S. Steel for $15 billion, a premium given the current U.S. Steel stock price.

“This emerging strain of isolationism is even making its presence felt in our domestic business dealings, to the detriment of everyone involved — workers, business owners and investors alike. I’m speaking, of course, about the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to block Nippon Steel’s acquisition of U.S. Steel. Unfortunately, my old running mate has adopted the same misguided position,” Pence said in prepared remarks reviewed by National Review.

“If the deal is approved, factories in Pennsylvania and Indiana will remain open and receive billion-dollar upgrades. If the deal is not approved, the steel mills will close, thousands of American workers will lose their jobs, and the great American Rust Belt will once again be hollowed out and betrayed by Washington D.C.”

Pence, the former GOP governor of Indiana, is the latest prominent Republican politician to support the deal. Former senator Pat Toomey (R., Pa.) and former representative Mike Gallagher (R., Wis.), known for his hawkish posture towards China, are among those who have spoken favorably about the Nippon Steel acquisition.

“There are some who make the bogus argument that this deal could threaten our national security. But that argument ignores a much larger, more dangerous reality. China now produces more than half of the world’s steel. Russia is also producing at levels that rival the United States. Meanwhile, we’re falling behind,” Pence continued.

“If the Biden administration blocks this deal, it won’t be protecting our national security — it will be playing right into China’s hands. Nobody wants to see this deal fail more than the Chinese Communist Party.”

National Review has reached out to the companies for comment.

Through his nonprofit organization, Advancing American Freedom, Pence is an advocate for socially conservative values alongside free-market economics and a muscular U.S. foreign policy. Pence links the opposition to the Nippon Steel deal to a growing strand of “isolationism” that he thinks would jeopardize America’s longstanding alliances and allow authoritarian nations to become more powerful on the world stage.

Some conservatives in the populist wing of the Republican Party have strongly opposed U.S. support for Ukraine’s ongoing war of self-defense against Russia, arguing the conflict has morphed into an unwinnable proxy war and a waste of taxpayer dollars. The internal Republican infighting over Ukraine has played an important role in congressional battles but has not become a major factor in GOP primary elections.

Most conservatives have supported U.S. aid to Israel for its ongoing regional war in the Middle East against Iranian terror proxies Hamas and Hezbollah, and the Republican Party is near-unanimous in its concern about China’s growing geopolitical influence.

“On the other hand, by partnering with Japan, we can further isolate China, strengthen our steel industry and better position ourselves to protect ourselves and our allies,” Pence stated.

“Nippon Steel is not China. It’s not Russia. It’s a trusted partner from a country that is home to tens of thousands of American troops deployed to defend against shared threats in the Pacific. If we are prepared to fight and bleed together, should we not also enjoy the fruits of peace and prosperity together?” he added.

“And perhaps most importantly, we have a chance to send a message to the world that America still believes in the importance of maintaining strong alliances — economically, diplomatically, and militarily — for the good of our own nation, for the good of our friends, and for the good of the free world.”

His position represents another break from his running mate, former president and 2024 GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, an opponent of the Nippon Steel deal. The relationship between Pence and Trump broke down because of Trump’s promotion of false claims surrounding the 2020 presidential election and Trump’s unsuccessful attempts to pressure Pence into contesting the election results.

Pence is reportedly not endorsing Trump this cycle and has attacked Trump’s shift leftward on abortion towards a centrist position on the issue. Pence has also rebuked Trump for opposing legislation to place a ban on TikTok if its Chinese parent company does not sell the video-sharing platform to an American buyer.

If the proposed U.S. Steel deal goes through, Nippon Steel promises to keep the famous U.S. Steel branding and Pittsburgh headquarters while investing in American steelmaking and workers. Nippon Steel is hoping it can enhance U.S. Steel’s technological innovation and drive toward decarbonization.

Like Trump, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have said U.S. Steel should remain an American-owned and operated company. Senator J. D. Vance (R., Ohio), Trump’s running mate this time around, is part of a bipartisan group of rust-belt senators opposed to Nippon Steel’s purchase.

“Right now, China is intentionally flooding the world with cheap steel, selling at a loss to grow their market share and strangle producers in other countries. If China succeeds in destroying the US steel industry, they hope we will be forced to rely on them for the steel we need to build planes, ships, tanks, and other weapons our military needs. America must never be forced to beg China to provide the tools we need to preserve American freedom.

Last month, the Biden administration extended its review of Nippon Steel’s purchase, ensuring the proposed acquisition will remain in limbo until after election day. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), an inter-agency panel tasked with evaluating the national-security ramifications of large foreign purchases, is reviewing the proposal.

The United Steelworkers, a powerful labor union across the Rust Belt, opposes the transaction and has expressed skepticism of Nippon Steel’s commitments to protecting union jobs and investing in America. The union endorsed Harris’s presidential bid after supporting Biden prior to his decision to drop out of the race.

Trump and Harris are hoping to court working-class voters across three must-win rust-belt states, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Polls have shown the candidates are virtually tied in all three of those states with only weeks to go until election day.