Mike Pompeo, who served as Donald Trump's secretary of state for three years, publicly broke with his old boss on Friday over a major international steel deal.
Writing in a column in the Wall Street Journal, Pompeo called opposition to Nippon Steel’s proposed purchase of U.S. Steel "shortsighted."
"The deal would strengthen U.S. Steel’s current operations and production capacity, benefit its workers and their communities, and enhance the competitiveness of the American steel industry," argued Pompeo, a strategic adviser to Nippon Steel. "Nippon Steel’s proposal to invest $2.7 billion in union-represented local steel facilities would also allow U.S. Steel to compete better against Chinese trade tactics."
Trump has strongly opposed the company's acquisition of U.S. Steel and vowed to block the $15 billion deal, writing in a social media post he is "totally against the once great and powerful U.S. Steel being bought by a foreign company" and will use tax incentives and tariffs to make U.S. Steel "Strong and Great Again, and it will happen FAST!"
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“As President,” he said, “I will block this deal from happening. Buyer Beware!!!”
Trump remarks rankled a number of steelworkers who backed Trump for president, including United Steelworkers Local 2227 Vice President Jason Zugai, who said: “I didn’t expect that to come out. So that was like a gut punch.”
“I am very frustrated with the news that came out last night," he said at the time.
Pompeo echoed the sentiments, calling out Trump and President Joe Biden — who also opposes the deal — by name. There's a "glut" of underpriced Chinese steel on the market, he said, which undermines competition and "caused global economic fallout," namely, "putting domestic steelmakers around the world out of business and their employees out of work."
Nippon Steel, he said, will keep facilities open, save jobs and give American manufacturers access to quality steel produced in the United States.
Pompeo called the deal a "no-brainer."
"If the U.S. blocks this deal, China will perceive it as proof of a troubled U.S.-Japan relationship," he said. "It would be a gift to the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda machine, fueling false narratives about the hypocrisy of the U.S. and the empty promises we offer our allies. This is the opposite of the message we should be sending. A block would reinforce, not challenge, China’s steel dominance."