Michael Stelzig: No need to worry about national security in U.S. Steel deal

Anyone familiar with national security knows that Japan is an important mutual defense treaty ally to our country. And anyone familiar with Pittsburgh and Allegheny County knows how important the steel industry has been to this region.

Just over two months ago, we witnessed these two worlds coming together — when U.S. Steel corporation announce its proposed acquisition by the Japanese Nippon Steel. The public reaction to this deal has been mixed, to say the least. The runner-up Cleveland-Cliffs has been very vocal against the merger, labor unions are speaking out against the deal as threat to our “national security interests,” and politicians are criticizing it as part of their posturing for the upcoming elections. All the while, genuine experts in this field continue to reassure us that this deal poses no harm to us.

Let’s place this concern into proper perspective national security perspective. While foreign control of a U.S. steel company is a concern, control by a Japanese company possess very little actual threat to the national security of the United States. This is a much different situation than if this merger was with a company from an adversarial country such as China or Russia — which would pose a significant threat to our national security. Japan on the other hand poses little threat since we are aligned diplomatically, militarily, and economically.

As a Pittsburgh native who spent most of my military career in the Asia-Pacific working on various U.S. national security matters, I can firmly say that there is no need to worry about our national security in this transaction. Since the Cold War, Japan has been on the front line in the struggle between democratic, free-market countries like ours and communist, controlled economies in China and North Korea. As long at those countries remain adversarial to Japan and the U.S., our strategic security interest will remain aligned. Let us not forget, the U.S. has large numbers of troops and aircraft stationed in Japan. We even have the only forward deployed aircraft carrier home ported in Yokosuka, Japan.

On the economic front, let us face the truth: allies investing in allies is a good thing. The more our economies are integrated the closer our long-term national security interest will be aligned.

Just look at other examples of Japanese industrial presence in our country that turned out to be huge net positives. In 2022, Toyota and Honda were among the top 5 automakers brands selling the most cars in the United States. Over the past two years, Toyota and Honda announced almost $9 billion in investment into our country’s economy in the form of new domestic jobs and manufacturing capabilities.

This shows that American consumers trust the products and businesses of allies like Japan. Refusing to do the same with the U.S. Steel merger — just because the iconic name of the company sits so close to our hearts — is like a knee-jerk reaction only driven by emotion that disregards the potential benefits for Allegheny County and rest of our country.

For decades, my family has benefited from the steel industry in this region. My grandfather worked most of his adult life at J&L Steel and my father was a lifelong Boilermaker. I too want to see the steel industry here prosper.

If all involved stakeholders — whether they be labor unions, elected officials, and industry leaders — genuinely cared about the well-being of Allegheny County and rest of Pennsylvania, they would stop trying to derail this deal on baseless or over-inflated national security grounds. We should let the regulatory processes proceed without distractions.

Col. Michael Stelzig, U.S. Army Retired, served as a foreign policy specialist with extensive experience gained during assignments at U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Thailand, Afghanistan, Philippines, and finally as the Defense Attache to Cambodia. He is a Pittsburgh native.