The US president is expected to announce a decision to block the proposed sale of the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker as early as Friday.
The President of the United States, Joe Biden, has decided to block the proposed acquisition of US Steel by Japan’s Nippon Steel, American media have reported.
Biden is expected to announce his decision to scrap the $14.9 billion sale on national security grounds as early as Friday, the New York Times, Washington Post and Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Biden’s decision comes after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States last month failed to reach a consensus on the deal’s potential national security risks, and just weeks before he hands control of the White House to President elected of the USA, Donald Trump.
Biden was widely expected to block the sale of the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker to Japan’s largest steelmaker, after opposing the proposal during his ill-fated re-election campaign.
Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, also opposed the deal, describing the proposed sale as “a terrible thing.”
The proposed sale was seen as a key election issue in the key state of Pennsylvania, which swung from Trump to Biden in 2020 and back to Trump in November.
The United Steelworkers (USW) labor union lobbied hard against the sale, describing it as “nothing more than corporate greed, selling out American workers and jeopardizing the long-term future of the domestic steel industry and our national security.”
Under the proposed sale, which was overwhelmingly supported by US Steel shareholders, the combined company would have become one of the largest steel producers in the world.
US Steel would have become a subsidiary of Nippon Steel, but kept its name and headquarters in Pittsburgh.
Biden’s decision could strain relations with Japan, one of the US’s closest allies in Asia and a key partner in Washington’s efforts to counter China.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in November wrote to Biden urging him to approve the deal to avoid damaging ties between the two sides, Reuters news agency reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
