If you’re putting together goals for the new year, make one to read (or re-read) Donald Trump’s “The Art of the Deal.” Everything we need to know about his leadership skills has been displayed there for almost 40 years.
Some of its top-level anecdotes are pretty obvious signs of Trump’s philosophy, like:
“My style of deal-making is quite simple and straightforward. I aim very high, and then I just keep pushing and pushing and pushing to get what I’m after.”
This ambitious attitude is a welcome change after the last four years of mediocrity and ruin. If Trump’s first term’s success at home and peace abroad is any sign, it bodes well for what’s to come.
The Biden administration is doing as much damage as possible on its way out the door. One of the worst decisions for the American economy and its workers is Biden’s attempt to sabotage a merger between a U.S. company and our Japanese friends. Biden is using the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to block a merger between Nippon Steel and US Steel on a flimsy basis that could have national security implications.
This is a lie.
Since mid-2023, Tokyo-based Nippon Steel has been trying to merge with Pennsylvania-based US Steel. Nippon offered $15 billion to acquire the company, a much more generous offer than the $7.3 billion bid previously made by Cleveland-Cliffs Steel. Cleveland-Cliffs’ stock value has dropped more than 50 percent over the last year.
Analysts think Nippon Steel will be fine if it doesn’t acquire US Steel. If Cleveland-Cliffs doesn’t, however, some say it will collapse. This reminds me of another “Art of the Deal” quote:
“The worst thing you can possibly do in a deal is seem desperate to make it. That makes the other guy smell blood, and then you’re dead. The best thing you can do is deal from strength, and leverage is the biggest strength you can have. Leverage is having something the other guy wants. Or better yet, needs. Or best of all, simply can’t do without.”
So the only leverage Cleveland-Cliffs has left is its home-court advantage. Because it is an American company, it can weaponize lobbyists and make political donations in ways that a foreign company can’t. Cleveland-Cliffs made a considerable push last year to exploit Pennsylvania’s swing-state status to help Biden carry the Keystone State.
Spoiler: It didn’t work.
To assuage any post-election concerns, Nippon Steel guaranteed that it wouldn’t reduce production at US Steel mills in six states — including Pennsylvania. This deal helps America’s manufacturing industry; it doesn’t hurt it. This is why Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., was quick to criticize the blocking of the deal.
“President Biden’s politically motivated decision to block the US Steel-Nippon deal is a significant blow to Pennsylvania and the American steel industry. His actions suggest he doesn’t understand the difference between an adversary like China and an ally like Japan. … Claims of national security risks are baseless,” Meuser said.
Indeed, the merger is good for national security, enabling us and the Japanese to unite against Chinese steel dominance. Nippon Steel’s annual production is about 44.4 million tons, while US Steel’s is about 14.5, so they’d become the world’s third-largest steel producer if they joined forces.
The Biden administration’s labeling Japan a national security risk seems particularly odd right now, given that last week they sold them a bunch of air-to-air missiles:
Trump has indeed voiced opposition to the Nippon/US Steel merger. However, that is part of his strategy to get a better deal. The proposed union is already very generous to US Steel, but that doesn’t mean Trump couldn’t swing something even better. Once again, from “The Art of the Deal”:
“The final key to the way I promote is bravado. I play to people’s fantasies. People may not always think big themselves. but they can get very excited by those who do. That is why a little hyperbole never hurts. People want to believe that something is the biggest, the greatest and the most spectacular.”
Let’s have faith that Trump will reject the Biden administration’s politically motivated interference in the deal or get an even bigger, more spectacular one. It’s yet another reason January 20 can’t come fast enough.
