Braidy industry denies any national security concern over Rusal's investment in its rolling mill

Reacting to the request of investigation by Rusal on its rolling mill, Braidy Industries says Rusal’s investment on the mill is not something that could cause any national security concern and hence, an investigation of foreign investment is not applicable.

A statement from Braidy Industries said that while it “respects and supports the important national security responsibilities” of the Committee on Foreign Investment, its US$1.7 billion rolling mill project in Ashland “does not enter or interfere with (the committee’s) rules or regulations.”

The Braidy statement also says that the project being a “greenfield” project is not generally subjected to the review of Committee on Foreign Investment. The Treasury Department, however, has not confirmed or denied any such review.

Braidy announced Rusal’s investment in its upcoming mill in April.  Rusal, one of the largest aluminium producers in the world, which came under US sanction in 2018 said it would invest US$200 million in the project in exchange of a 40 per cent ownership share of the mill and provide aluminium to Braidy Industries from its under construction Siberian smelter. Though the sanctions were lifted in January, Congressional Democrats, however, raised national security concerns and asked Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin for a committee review on the investment.

Braidy said in its statement that the Kentucky project “would bolster U.S. national security through strengthening the U.S. aluminium supply chain with the first new rolling mill in over 35 years.”

Congressmen opined “a company that is majority-owned by a U.S.-sanctioned Russian national and Russian state bank — in an American aluminium mill, raises serious questions of national security.”

Democrats cited “potential risk to the integrity of our defense supply chain,” noting that the company has said it would supply the Department of Defense.

The plant has been promoted as a potential lifeline for Eastern Kentucky’s falling economic graph. The project received US$15 million direct investment from taxpayers’ money initiated by Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin in 2017 making Kentuckians a partial owner of the company.

Braidy promised to provide advanced manufacturing jobs for as many as 30,000 families in Appalachia with an unemployment rate as high as 40 per cent in recent years. Braidy assured it would put the Americans back to work, who lost their coal and steel industry jobs.  

U.S. lawmakers last year increased the power of the multi-agency committee who was entrusted with the charge of investing foreign investment in the U.S. from national security viewpoint.