Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Open the White House Watch newspaper for free
Your guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world
US President Joe Biden blocked Japan’s Nippon Steel’s $15 billion deal to buy US steel, putting a strain on Washington’s relationship with its closest Asia-Pacific ally.
Biden, who has long opposed the acquisition, issued an order on Friday requiring Nippon Steel and US Steel to “completely and permanently abandon the proposed transaction” within 30 days.
The move comes 17 days before he hands over the presidency to Donald Trump, who opposes the deal.
In the order, Biden said there was “credible evidence” that Nippon Steel, through the acquisition, “could take action that harms the national security of the United States.”
The bipartisan opposition to the deal in Washington is a sign of the extent to which political sentiment has shifted toward foreign investment in the U.S., particularly in strategic industries where labor unions have a strong influence.
The announcement came after the Committee on Foreign Investment failed to reach a consensus on December 23 on whether the acquisition posed a national security threat.
Biden’s intervention marks the failure of a major expansion plan by Nippon Steel that has turned into a hot political issue in a US election year.
Despite intense lobbying from U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel executives in recent weeks, opposition from the United Steelworkers union proved fatal to the deal.
Shares of U.S. Steel fell nearly 8 percent in premarket trading Friday.
The state’s opponents welcomed Biden’s move.
“This deal was made behind closed doors without staff at the table. It represents a clear threat to America’s national and economic security and to the enforcement of our trade laws. This is why we have fought at every level. The president is right to block,” wrote Sherrod Brown, the outgoing Democratic senator from Ohio, on X.
