On August 17, Liaoning Province-based Chinese steel producer Anshan Iron and Steel Group (Angang) issued a statement rejecting a rumor that it has lowered its investment share to 10 percent in a planned new rebar plant in Amory, Mississippi State, US, stressing that it has not changed its share of investment in the project in question. Angang did not disclose the percentage in question, just stating that it is lower than 14 percent.
In May 2010, Angang signed a cooperation agreement with US Steel Development Co., Ltd to jointly build five steel mills in America, with a total investment of $175 million by Anshan Steel.
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 the proposed 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 are 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, Angang's US partner Steel Development Co. stated that the investment would not harm US security and stressed that it would not abandon its plans to cooperate with Angang.