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Wed Sep 4, 2024, 02:55 PM Sep 4

Biden preparing to block Nippon Steel purchase of U.S. Steel

Economic Policy
Biden preparing to block Nippon Steel purchase of U.S. Steel
The move would pose a setback for relations with Japan.

By David J. Lynch and Jeff Stein
Updated September 4, 2024 at 2:26 p.m. EDT|Published September 4, 2024 at 1:43 p.m. EDT

President Joe Biden is preparing to announce that he will formally block Nippon Steel’s proposed $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel, according to three people with knowledge of the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a matter not yet made public.

The decision would be a stunning rejection of a deal proposed by Japan, a U.S. ally, that became a major political controversy ahead of the November election. The proposed acquisition has been under investigation by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

A White House official declined to comment, but said in a statement that CFIUS had not yet transmitted its recommendation to the president. ... The deal would have created the third-largest global steelmaker in a bid to compete with Chinese rivals on the global stage.

On Wednesday, U.S. Steel CEO David Burritt warned that the deal’s collapse would put at risk “thousands of good-paying union jobs" and raise “serious questions” about the likelihood that the company would remain headquartered in Pittsburgh.

Last week, Nippon Steel increased its planned investment in the new U.S. Steel by $1.3 billion in addition to the $1.4 billion it had previously detailed. The Japanese company said the extra money would two of U.S. Steel’s largest facilities, the Mon Valley Works in Pennsylvania and Gary Works in Indiana.

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By David J. Lynch
David J. Lynch is a staff writer on the financial desk who joined The Washington Post in November 2017 after working for the Financial Times, Bloomberg News and USA Today.follow on X @davidjlynch

By Jeff Stein
Jeff Stein is the White House economics reporter for The Washington Post. He was a crime reporter for the Syracuse Post-Standard and, in 2014, founded the local news nonprofit the Ithaca Voice in Upstate New York. He was also a reporter for Vox.follow on X @jstein_wapo


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