Biden announces blocking sale of US Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel

Biden previously came out against the deal last March — and was backed by the United Steelworkers, concerned over whether the company would honor existing labor agreements or slash jobs as well as the firm’s financial transparency.

“It is important that we maintain strong American steel companies powered by American steel workers,” Biden said in a March statement, while he was still seeking reelection to the presidency before dropping out of the race.

“US Steel has been an iconic American steel company for more than a century, and it is vital for it to remain an American steel company that is domestically owned and operated,” he added.

US President-elect Donald Trump has also opposed the acquisition and vowed in December on his Truth Social platform to block the deal and to use tax incentives and tariffs to grow the company.

Steelworkers’ union President David McCall said last month that the union welcomed Trump’s opposition to the sale and said “it’s time for this deal to be rejected so we can all focus on the future.”

Nippon Steel announced in December that it planned to buy the Pennsylvania steel producer for $14.1 billion in cash — and despite committing to keep the US Steel name and Pittsburgh headquarters — its proposal raised concerns about what the transaction could mean for unionized workers, supply chains and US national security.

Still, the deal had many supporters, including lawmakers and business groups like the US Chamber.

Mike Pompeo, who served as Trump’s first secretary of state called a potential rejection of the deal “shortsighted” in the Wall Street Journal.

“The deal would strengthen US Steel’s current operations and production capacity, benefit its workers and their communities, and enhance the competitiveness of the American steel industry,” he wrote in December.