US president expected to announce decision to block proposed sale of Pittsburgh-based steelmaker as early as Friday.
United States President Joe Biden has made the decision to block the proposed takeover of US Steel by Japan’s Nippon Steel, according to reports from US media outlets.
Biden is set to announce his decision to halt the $14.9bn sale on national security grounds, with The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Bloomberg reporting that this announcement could come as early as Friday, citing sources familiar with the situation.
Biden’s choice comes after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States failed to come to a consensus last month on the potential national security risks associated with the deal. This decision comes just before Biden transitions the White House to President-elect Donald Trump.
It was widely anticipated that Biden would block the sale of the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker to Japan’s top steel producer, a position he held during his unsuccessful re-election campaign. Trump, who will assume office on January 20, also opposed the deal, calling it “a horrible thing.”
The proposed sale was a significant issue in the key swing state of Pennsylvania, which shifted from Trump to Biden in 2020 and then back to Trump in November.
The United Steelworkers labour union (USW) strongly opposed the sale, denouncing it as “nothing more than corporate greed, selling out American workers and jeopardising the long-term future of the domestic steel industry and our national security.”
Under the proposed sale, which was heavily supported by US Steel shareholders, the merged company would have become one of the largest steel producers globally. US Steel would have functioned as a subsidiary of Nippon Steel but retained its name and headquarters in Pittsburgh.
Biden’s decision may strain relations with Japan, a close US ally in Asia and a crucial partner in Washington’s efforts to counter China.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba reportedly wrote to Biden in November, urging him to approve the deal to prevent harm to the relationship between the two countries, as per sources familiar with the situation cited by Reuters news agency.
