After one month of deadlock in the dispute concerning Chinese steelmaker Angang Steel's planned investment in the US, it is reported that obstacles blocking Angang Steel's investment have almost been removed following negotiations and that the investment process is currently moving forward smoothly, with construction work on the project expected to commence in September.
An insider from Angang Steel commented, "Many US organizations telephoned us, hoping to help us negotiate with the government." The Angang official recalled that the US Department of the Treasury had affirmed that the US Overseas Investment Office would deal with any national security concerns in relation to the issue and would seek to maintain an open investment environment. The insider added that the US Department of the Treasury thus did not side with US lawmakers in the unfair accusations that they had made.
The Angang official said the Chinese steelmaker chose to build the proposed steel mill mainly as local rebar production in the US cannot meet local demand. The establishment of the new mill will have a good impact in terms of tax revenues and employment in the local area, he said.
As previously reported by SteelOrbis, on July 2 a group of US lawmakers sent a letter to US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, asking for an investigation as to whether Angang's plans to invest in a rebar facility in Amory, Mississippi should be blocked, citing concerns over national security. The American Iron and Steel Institute subsequently came out in support of the letter sent by the lawmakers. Angang, on the other hand, stressed that its investment plans were of a strictly commercial nature, while the China Iron and Steel Association said that intervention by the US government against Angang's planned investment would constitute protectionism.
Meanwhile, for its part, Angang's US partner Steel Development Co. had stated that the investment would not harm US security and stressed that it would not abandon its plans to cooperate with Angang.