Price on trade: Japan could help fund Nippon Steel’s acquisition of U.S. Steel

Earlier this month, Nippon Steel announced that it is applying for subsidies under the Japanese government’s Green Transformation Promotion Act to expand the company’s electric furnace steelmaking capabilities and to convert from blast furnace to electric furnace operations.

As we have said before, transitioning from blast furnace- to electric furnace-based steelmaking is a good thing and a necessary step in decarbonizing the global steel industry. However, there is a big difference between companies that fund their own adoption of electric furnaces and those that rely on government subsidies to do the same. By taking advantage of unnecessary subsidies like these, Nippon Steel and others pursue projects that actually run contrary to decarbonization goals because they divert finite resources away from the types of breakthrough technologies and broad-based decarbonization efforts that could benefit from government funding.

Alan Price

Price has more than 30 years of experience representing clients in high-profile, complex international trade regulatory matters, including trade litigation involving public and government relations issues. In addition to being chair of the firm’s International Trade Practice, he heads the firm’s antidumping and countervailing duty practice. He also counsels clients on bilateral and multilateral agreements, trade legislation, customs regulation, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) compliance issues, escape clause investigations, and World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute resolution.

Ted Brackemyre

Brackemyre represents clients in a variety of international trade matters, including antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings, export controls compliance programs, and issues related to international trade and climate policy. He practices primarily before the US Department of Commerce, the US International Trade Commission, the US Court of International Trade, and the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Brackemyre has represented clients in a broad range of industries, including leading US technology companies and US manufacturers of steel, wood, and consumer products.