The Yguduhs Won

 Well, it happened. Biden axed the Nippon Steel acquisition of U.S. Steel—likely dealing a death blow to the agreement (barring a successful legal challenge). I hope this doesn't simply doom U.S. Steel and lead to even more job loss in the industry, but there is a real danger that it will. The U.S. manufacturing giant agreed to this merger in the first place, let us recall, because it is struggling to stay competitive. Its current leadership has warned that it may have to close plants entirely; whereas the Japanese company that offered to buy them has committed to keep staffing levels the same. Biden's decision to block the deal, supposedly out of a desire to preserve union jobs, therefore seems completely misguided. 

I've been complaining for weeks now about how Trump is willfully squandering our political capital with our allies abroad—threatening tariffs and trade wars with Western Europe, Canada, Mexico, and our other close neighbors and friends. I've been warning that Trump can only strain these relationships so far without damaging them irreparably. And yet, I have to say—Biden is also not helping things much when he delivers a needless slap in the face of this sort to Japan. One of the most insulting aspects of the whole situation is that the administration ended up citing "national security" grounds as an excuse to block the deal; as if Japan—a close ally and liberal democracy—posed a threat to our interests. 

Given that Nippon Steel may actually save more unionized American steelworker jobs than it costs, it's hard to see the opposition to the merger as anything other than knee-jerk xenophobia and nationalistic chauvinism. This is exactly what I've been complaining about with Trump, of course. I've said that, with his slogan of "America First," he might as well have painted the words "Don't Trust Me" on the national shield (borrowing a phrase and image from Johan Huizinga). But it has to be said that Biden—with his "America First Lite" approach to trade protectionism and economic nationalism, might as well have written the words: "Trust Me a Little Bit Less." And our allies will only tolerate it for so long. 

There's nothing sadder than to see politicians sabotaging alliances that have lasted for nearly a century, just for the sake of the type of short-term political gain that can be wrested from pandering to the forces of economic nationalism. To do so is to betray both our friends around the world and, more perversely still, our own enlightened self-interest as a nation. I'll quote Huizinga again: "Without mutual trust a community of human beings or States is impossible. A State which emblazons [...] 'Do not trust me' on its shield [...] could only exist in a like-minded world by maintaining an absolute superiority of power over all other States combined." Which, as you may have noticed, we do not have. America still needs its friends. 

I would challenge anyone to explain how I'm wrong, or why sabotaging this deal makes sense for any reason other than the utterly self-defeating one of catering to xenophobia and nationalism. After all, the CFIUS report—even with the administration putting its thumb on the scale—did not seem to come up with a more plausible rationale. 

The real reason why people want to block this acquisition, then, still seems to be the sort of knuckle-dragging anti-Japanese bias that E.E. Cummings parodied in his poem "YgUDuh" so many decades ago. In the poem, the racist speaker he satirizes ends his screed by demanding the U.S. "SIVILEYEz" the Japanese. Of course, the intended joke is that the troglodytic racist speaker of the poem is the one who appears most lacking in civilization. And indeed, the U.S. will continue to be the uncivilized party to the transaction if it keeps on crudely insulting its friends by calling them "national security threats." Surely the highest mark of civilization, after all, is an ability to keep one's promises...