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Biden blocks U.S. Steel sale to Nippon Steel

©U.S.Steel

According to the US President, U.S. Steel is to remain a purely American company; its Gary Works site is shown here.
Image: U.S. Steel

At the beginning of the new year, US President Joe Biden blocked Nippon Steel’s takeover of U.S. Steel. Biden justified his veto of the transaction worth approximately 14 billion dollars on the grounds of national security, which the US President considers threatened if one of America’s largest steel producers were to be placed under foreign control.

The friendly takeover of the US steel giant by its Japanese competitor Nippon Steel, announced at the end of 2023, is unlikely in the wake of the US President’s veto, especially as Biden’s designated successor Donald Trump has also spoken out against the sale to date.
Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel consider the US President’s block to be a politically motivated decision to the detriment of the US steel company. According to the two corporations, instead of abiding by the law, the process was manipulated to advance President Biden’s political agenda. “We are dismayed by President Biden’s decision to block Nippon Steel’s acquisition of U. S. Steel, which reflects a clear violation of due process and the law governing CFIUS (editor’s note: Law on Foreign Investment of the US Department of the Treasury, US Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States). Instead of abiding by the law, the process was manipulated to advance President Biden’s political agenda. The President’s statement and Order do not present any credible evidence of a national security issue, making clear that this was a political decision. Following President Biden’s decision, we are left with no choice but to take all appropriate action to protect our legal rights.”
According to the corporations, Nippon Steel is the only partner both willing and able to make the necessary investments to U.S. Steel’s outdated facilities. As part of the 14-billion-dollar takeover, Nippon had pledged an investment of 2.7 billion dollars, including at least 1 billion dollars to U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works and approximately 300 million dollars to the Gary Works.
Source: Nippon Steel, U.S. Steel