What to Know in Washington: Japan’s PM Sidesteps US Steel Buy

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Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida heads to Washington looking to strengthen his country’s alliance with the US while sidestepping issues that cast their ties in an unfavorable light — including the planned takeover of US Steel.

President Joe Biden last month voiced opposition to Nippon Steel’s $14 billion-plus plan to buy the US steelmaker, a rare intervention even if he has not directly pledged to block it. While that places him alongside union workers in a critical election year, it runs the risk of upsetting one of Washington’s strongest allies in Asia.

The Japanese government has refrained from commenting substantively on the deal, and Kishida has said he doesn’t plan to discuss it at a summit with Biden this week. Yet the case illustrates the uneasy position many US allies have been left in as Biden prepares for a rematch with his predecessor Donald Trump in November’s presidential election. Read more from Stephen Stapczynski, Shoko Oda, and Yoshiaki Nohara.

Biden and Kishida also plan to form a council on defense industries and allow shipyard workers in Japan to perform more maintenance work on US Navy ships as they look to shore up their military alliance, according to a senior US official. Defense issues will be atop the agenda during tomorrow’s meeting between the leaders. Read more.

Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hosed down speculation Japan may be formally invited to join the AUKUS security partnership, saying Tokyo’s involvement would be limited to cooperation on developing advanced technologies. His comments follow a joint statement from US, UK, and Australian defense ministers highlighting the potential for working with Tokyo. Read more.

BIDEN’S AGENDA

Biden will deliver remarks on the care economy around 12:30 p.m.
The president and First Lady Jill Biden will host Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio Kishida Yuko around 6 p.m.
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will host a briefing around 1:30 p.m.

CONGRESS’ SCHEDULE

The House returns at 2 p.m. to consider more than a dozen bills under suspension, including a boost to the outdoor recreation industry and overhauling workforce development programs.
Senators meet at 10 a.m. to consider judicial nominees.
For the full detailed agenda, read BGOV’s Congress Tracker.

Also Happening on the Hill

Some firms doing business between TAIWAN and the US are growing concerned that if the stagnating $78 billion tax package withers, Taiwan-specific provisions that would provide double taxation relief might get left behind too.

Both businesses and advocates view the relatively under-the-radar Taiwan provisions as important for the future of semiconductor investment in the US by Taiwanese companies.
But when advocates ask Congress what might happen to the Taiwan-specific provisions if the overall tax package doesn’t pass the Senate, the response is opaque. Read more.

Sen. TIM SCOTT moved to repeal a CFPB rule that caps credit card late fees at $8 and is slated to cost banks billions of dollars in revenue, while banking industry groups press on with their litigation to block it.

The Ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, Scott (R-S.C.) offered a measure that would use the Congressional Review Act to repeal the credit card late fee rule. Read more.
Legal Fight: In Texas, a federal judge rescinded his order transferring an industry lawsuit challenging the CFPB’s rule to Washington, after a higher court sent it back to his district. Read more.

A bipartisan Senate group urged Biden to punish VENEZUELA’s Nicolas Maduro for attacks against his top opposition rival, saying an upcoming election fails to meet the promise of a fair vote. Read more.

People, Power, and Politics

TRUMP’s prosecutor in the JAN. 6 TRIAL urged the Supreme Court to allow a criminal trial of the former president for trying to overturn his 2020 election loss, as the prosecutor races the calendar in the run-up to the November presidential vote.

Justices should reject Trump’s bid for immunity from prosecution, special counsel Jack Smith said in a court filing yesterday.
Smith needs a clearcut victory — ideally for him a quick one — to have any chance of putting Trump on trial before voters go to the polls on Nov. 5. Read more.

UK Foreign Secretary DAVID CAMERON will meet with Trump in Florida today as the UK tries to get the Republican presidential candidate’s allies in the House to support further military aid for Ukraine. Read more.

Judges are wrestling with an uptick in personal THREATS against them while navigating limits on what they can say publicly, according to conversations with federal judges. Read more.

What Else We’re Watching

Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN spoke with ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER Yoav Gallant and discussed the urgent need to “dramatically increase” humanitarian assistance delivery to Gaza, according to a readout from Austin’s office. Read more.

A new era of GLOBAL REARMAMENT is gathering pace, and it will mean vast costs and some tough decisions for western governments already struggling with shaky public finances. Read more.

An obscure, 30-year-old test RETIREMENT PLANS use to break ties between substantially similar investment options is the focus of a GOP effort to undo the White House’s ESG-friendly 401(k) rule. Read more.

POWER PRICES rose last month in more than three out of every four major metropolitan areas in the continental US. Voters may factor such costs into their assessment of Biden’s performance when they head to the polls in November. Read more.

TESLA reached a settlement on the eve of its highest-profile trial yet over a crash blamed on Autopilot, the driver-assistance system Elon Musk has billed as crucial to his pursuit of self-driving cars. Read more.

To contact the reporters on this story: Brandon Lee in Washington at blee@bgov.com; Jeannie Baumann in Washington at jbaumann@bloombergindustry.com

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Kayla Sharpe at ksharpe@bloombergindustry.com; Giuseppe Macri at gmacri@bgov.com

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