Bruce Aronson, senior advisor at USALI’s Japan Center, told Japan’s Sentaku Magazine （選択) that he sees the US government decision to block Nippon Steel’s purchase of U.S. Steel as part of a wider global trend of expanding “national security” to include any national interest.

“To date, the US has succeeded in balancing national security interests against the benefits of foreign direct investment. But if it fails to do so due to political or other non-security considerations, this may influence other countries and lead to a general increase in uncertainty and decline in foreign investment globally. Such a trend would be a blow to US businesses, who lead the world in overseas investment.”

Aronson said he does not expect the case to have a wider effect on US economic relations with Japan. “For Japanese companies, America remains an attractive market for foreign direct investment.”