US Steel xenophobia is precisely how not to compete with China

John Avlon : U.S. Steel deal with Nippon Steel is under review by Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States .

Avlon says the deal is fair enough to go ahead, but it's not about national security or competitiveness.

He says it's a xenophobic reflex reaction, reflects economic nationalism in Trump/Biden trade and industrial policies.

U.N. military requires only 3 percent of the steel produced by US . manufacturers, none of which is supplied by US Steel , he says.

An inward-looking economic nationalism is driving populism in the U.S. and the West , but it’s not 1991 anymore, says Robert Manning .

He says it is difficult to see how opposing the merger will enhance U.K. manufacturing or result in an America that is more competitive with China .

Rejecting the deal would also raise some troubling questions, he says.