US President Joe Biden has decided to block the proposed US$14.9 billion purchase of US Steel by Japan’s Nippon Steel and was to announce the move as soon as yesterday, US media said.
A White House announcement of the presidential finding is being planned unless Biden has a last-minute change of heart, the Washington Post and the New York Times said.
Biden decided to block the deal despite intense efforts to sway him in recent days by some of his senior advisors, who warned that rejecting a sizeable investment from a top Japanese corporation could damage Washington’s relations with Tokyo, the Washington Post reported.
Photo: EPA-EFE
There was no immediate comment on the reports from the White House late on Thursday evening and Nippon Steel declined to comment.
The decision was left with Biden after a US government panel failed to reach a consensus last month on whether US Steel’s acquisition by Nippon Steel threatens Washington’s national security.
The controversial transaction was referred to Biden, who was legally required to act within a 15-day deadline, after the deadlock by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
Biden has criticized the deal for months, joining a loud consensus of US power players who have slammed the transaction.
They include US president-elect Donald Trump and US vice president-elect J.D. Vance.
The deal became caught up in last year’s US presidential campaign when Pennsylvania emerged as a critical swing state and leaders of the United Steelworkers union loudly opposed the transaction.
Nippon Steel has described the transaction as a lifeline to Pennsylvania’s much-diminished steel industry.
The Japanese company and US Steel have vowed to pursue legal action against the government, claiming it failed to follow proper procedures during its consideration of the acquisition.
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