Biden blocks Japanese takeover of US Steel on national security grounds
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The move ends a years-long review process that had been shrouded in secrecy. President Joe Biden on Friday invoked a rarely-used presidential power to prevent the Japanese steel giant Nippon Steel from purchasing the United States Steel Corporation, citing the $14.1 billion deal’s potential consequences to American national security after a years-long review process.
The long-awaited decision to prohibit the transition, which would have placed America’s largest steel-making enterprise under foreign control, blocks Nippon Steel and its’ American affiliates from any attempt to acquire control of the Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel. It comes after a inter-agency committee charged with reviewing overseas business acquisitions of American businesses and other transactions with national security implications failed to reach a decision on whether to recommend approval or prohibition of the merger.
In a statement, Biden cited the need to keep steel production, which he described as “the backbone of our nation,” fully in American hands because it “represents an essential national security priority and is critical for resilient supply chains.”.
