OAN Staff James Meyers
8:15 AM – Friday, January 3, 2025
President Joe Biden announced Friday that he would block the sale of U.S. Steel to Japanese-owned Nippon Steel after a yearlong review of the possible acquisition.
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“We need major U.S. companies representing the major share of US steelmaking capacity to keep leading the fight on behalf of America’s national interests,” Biden said in a statement. “As a committee of national security and trade experts across the executive branch determined, this acquisition would place one of America’s largest steel producers under foreign control and create risk for our national security and our critical supply chains.”
“So, that is why I am taking action to block this deal,” Biden said.
The decision comes after a national security review by a Treasury Department committee failed to reach a consensus on the deal and referred the final decision to the president in December. In September, multiple outlets had reported that Biden was preparing to block the takeover.
Meanwhile, Nippon Steel previously said that the company could take legal action if the deal was blocked. U.S. Steel had also said it hoped Biden would approve the transaction.
Additionally, Nippon Steel first announced in December 2023 that it planned to purchase U.S. Steel for roughly $15 billion. The planned transaction caused alarms to go off among Pennsylvania lawmakers and steelworkers about what it could mean for outsourcing jobs, for union workers and for U.S. supply chains.
Biden said last March that it’s “vital” for U.S. Steel to remain domestically owned and operated.
After the announcement, U.S. Steel’s stock price dropped rapidly, falling 7% as markets opened Friday.
Founded in 1901, the estimated 11,000-worker company has dwindled since its heyday, when it employed a peak of roughly 340,000 individuals during World War II. Its stock price has barely edged higher since the 1990s as cheaper steel production abroad has increased.
“As I have said many times, steel production — and the steel workers who produce it — are the backbone of our nation,” Biden said in a statement. “A strong domestically owned and operated steel industry represents an essential national security priority and is critical for resilient supply chains. Without domestic steel production and domestic steel workers, our nation is less strong and less secure.”
“That is because steel powers our country: our infrastructure, our auto industry, and our defense industrial base,” he added. “Without domestic steel production and domestic steel workers, our nation is less strong and less secure.”
Furthermore, President-elect Donald Trump had also said he would block Nippon Steel’s efforts to buy U.S. Steel.
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