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President Joe Biden is expected to block Japan’s Nippon Steel’s $15 billion deal to buy U.S. Steel.
In one of his final moves in government, Biden — who has long opposed the raid — is expected to announce as soon as Friday his decision to kill the proposed acquisition of the iconic American steelmaker, two people familiar with the matter said.
One of those people said the White House has yet to be notified. Nippon steel About the decision.
The president’s expected move follows an interagency investment screening review, known as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (Cfius). He could not reach a consensus On December 23, on whether the acquisition was a national security threat.
Two people close to the matter said Nippon Steel may take legal action against the outgoing president’s decision.
One could say that such an action could reveal how much the decision in the discovery process was driven by politics rather than national security concerns. The process exposes the limitations of the Cfius process and its vulnerability to political interests.
Nippon Steel declined to comment.
President-elect Donald Trump also had it They threatened to destroy it The deal also promises to protect the Pittsburgh-based company with a mix of tariffs and tax incentives.
The conclusion of the year-long saga will soon show the failure of the Japanese team’s daring gambit It turned into a sensitive political issue In an election year. It also represents a significant departure from the long-standing open investment environment of the United States.
Biden’s decision to stabilize allies like Japan’s special relationship with the U.S. and move toward protectionism, support for trade unions, and an “America First” sentiment in American politics. It risks four years of work to stabilize it.
U.S. and Japanese government officials fear the implications for investment and M&A of the strengthening of the U.S.-Japanese alliance for Japan and other allies.
Nippon Steel Vice President Takahiro Mori has led a last-ditch effort by the Japanese steelmaker to win over government officials and union members in Washington and Pennsylvania.
Those efforts include a new proposal this week that would have given the government a veto over any cuts in steelmaking capacity at most of Nippon Steel’s plants in the United States, along with a number of other assurances on jobs and investment.
The signal follows Cfius concerns that Japanese ownership of U.S. Steel could cut domestic steel production, hurting industries of national importance.
But some of Biden’s top advisers have tried to talk him out of the deal, but those moves have had little effect.
His death is a victory for U.S. Trade Representative Catherine Tay and United Steelworkers Association President David McCall, two staunch opponents of the deal.
