President Joe Biden reiterated his earlier pledge to stop the merger of Steeltown USA’s most storied steel business on the campaign trail by blocking the proposed practically$ 15 billion package for Japan’s Nippon Steel to acquire Pittsburgh-based US Steel. To continue leading the fight in the name of America’s national interests, Biden said,” We need major US companies that represent the major share of US steel power.”
Nippon Steel and US Steel blasted the decision, saying in a joint statement that Biden’s blocking the bargain “reflects a clear violation of due process and the rules” in a process it said was “manipulated” to improve Biden’s political agenda. Additionally, it urged Biden to cite no reliable evidence of the package, which raises a problem for national security, and to file a lawsuit, stating that” we are left with no choice but to get all correct action to protect our constitutional right.”
After failing to reach a discussion, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States gave Biden the opportunity to review the offer in December. The action comes just days before the Democrat president’s scheduled inauguration, which had hurt relations between the US and Japan, which is America’s most important ally in Asia and its largest foreign loan holder.
Nippon Steel made a statement in December 2023 that it would get the steel producer for$ 14. 9 billion in cash and debt and would continue to use the US Steel name and headquarters. Despite that, its request raised questions about what the deal might mean for US national security, supply chains, and unionized staff. On Friday, Steelworkers leader David McCall called Biden’s choice the “right shift for our people”.
The announcement came at the height of a flurry of renewed aid for the US manufacturing sector’s recovery, and it came after a protracted stretch of protectionist tariffs, which analysts claim have helped resurrect home steel.
