(Corrects name to Takeshi, not Takashi, in paragraph 3 of January 7 story)
By David Brunnstrom, Simon Louis (Joe:) Trevor Hunnicutt and Tim Kelly
TOKYO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The foreign ministers of Japan and the United States said on Tuesday that relations between their countries are stronger than ever even after the Japanese prime minister called out U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to block Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion bid to buy the U.S. steel company. “Confounding.”
Biden's move last Friday was a jolt to US efforts to strengthen ties at a time when the political crisis in neighboring South Korea may complicate the deepening trilateral relationship between Washington, Seoul and Tokyo that was formed to confront China's growing military power.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Monday expressed confusion over Biden's decision, but after their meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya praised bilateral relations as stronger than ever.
In his remarks to the media, in which no questions were asked, Blinken did not mention Nippon Steel, but a statement from Japan's Foreign Ministry said he and Iwaya “exchanged views on the economy, including the acquisition of United States Steel (NYSE:).” “. A subsidiary of Nippon Steel Corporation.”
She said they “reaffirmed the importance of Japan-US economic relations, including investments by Japanese companies in the United States.”
Blinken said the two countries are “leading the way” in cooperation between like-minded countries, and added: “I have great confidence that it will continue for many years to come.”
After meeting with Ishiba at his residence, Blinken did not respond to journalists' questions about the potential impact of Biden's decision on bilateral relations.
Analysts say that although it may have a negative impact on Japanese investments in the United States, any damage to the broader relationship between the two countries will likely be limited given the two countries' shared security concerns about China.
Business lobbies in both Japan and the United States have pushed hard for the merger, backing their arguments with warnings about the impact on the vital relationship between the United States and Japan.
But it still faces opposition from both Biden and President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20, and Japan has courted him aggressively in the run-up to his re-election.
Ahead of his trip, the State Department said Blinken wanted to build on the momentum of trilateral cooperation between the United States, Japan and South Korea.
In Seoul, Blinken reaffirmed confidence in South Korea's handling of political unrest as investigators there seek to extend the arrest warrant for ousted President Yeon Suk-yul.
Reuters reported before the US elections that Trump's allies also reassured Seoul and Tokyo that he would support ongoing efforts to improve relations and enhance military, economic and diplomatic cooperation to confront China and North Korea.
Limited stress and damages resulting from Nippon Steel's decision
Nippon Steel and US Steel filed a lawsuit on Monday accusing Biden of violating the US Constitution by blocking their merger through what they called a sham national security review. They asked the US Federal Court to annul the decision.
A Japanese diplomat told Reuters that Biden's move may discourage foreign direct investment, but he expressed hope that close relations between the United States and Japan would continue, with a strong focus on restoring the strong relations with Trump that we saw during his previous administration, and benefiting from the increasingly hard-line mood. . In Washington regarding China.
Nicholas Cecchini, a Japan expert at the Washington Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Japan will not allow the decision to poison US-Japanese relations. “It is very important for Japan's national security,” he said.
Trump confirmed after his election victory that he was “absolutely opposed” to the merger and pledged to prevent it as president and support US Steel with tax breaks and tariffs.
A former senior official in Trump's first administration told Reuters he believed Trump would have taken the same approach as Biden.
Mark Bush, a fellow at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business, predicted “major ramifications” for U.S. efforts to work with allies to create resilient supply chains in the face of Chinese dominance or competition in key areas.
“Japan and other allies will have doubts about investing in or aligning with politically sensitive US supply chains,” he said. “China must be laughing at itself because it could not have hoped for a better outcome at all.”
