Fighting to protect Ohio steelworkers, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) demanded the U.S. government reject a Chinese company’s proposed acquisition of Cleveland-based aluminum manufacturer Aleris Corp.
Portman joined a bipartisan group of senators that argue the proposed acquisition by a unit of Zhongwang International Group, one of China’s biggest industrial producers of aluminum, would undermine U.S. national security and expose sensitive technologies to a foreign power.
In a letter to Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew, Portman and the other senators noted that Zhongwang International Group is currently under investigation by the Commerce Department for sidestepping countervailing and antidumping duties.
The lawmakers requested a thorough review of the proposal by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Committee members, through the Secretary of the Treasury as committee chair, are charged with examining any national security concerns from transactions that could result in control of a U.S. business by a foreign entity.
“It is increasingly critical that CFIUS exercise particular caution when a foreign investment transaction creates potential for military knowhow and sensitive technology to be transferred to China’s government,” the letter states. “Chinese entities, including state-owned or state-controlled enterprises, may have relationships with China’s military, compounding the risk that U.S. technologies will fall into the wrong hands. In this case, the transaction raises serious concerns that it may result in the transfer of sensitive R&D to China.”
Aleris Corp’s research and development technology is critical to current and long-term U.S. economic and national security interests, the letters said. The company’s advanced research and modeling techniques are used to develop high-strength alloys and light armor material with enhanced ballistic performance.
“China’s overcapacity in aluminum has directly contributed to severe reductions in U.S. domestic production as smelters unable to compete have been forced to close. Each such closure further imperils our nation’s ability to ensure a reliable supply of strategic materials in times of crisis,” the letter said.