US President Joe Biden plans to officially prevent Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel from acquiring US Steel before he hands over his seat to his successor president-elect Donald Trump, according to media reports.
The review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) is ongoing and Biden will make his final decision on the matter following the findings of the review, though any referral to the president signals that at least one member of the committee thinks the deal is posing a threat.
“The president’s position since the beginning is that it is vital for US Steel to be domestically owned and operated. As we have said before, the president will continue to see what the CFIUS process yields. We have not received any CFIUS recommendation,” Saloni Sharma, a spokesperson from the White House, stated.
The CFIUS is expected to share its decision with Biden later this month. Yet, it has been reported that Nippon Steel and US Steel will pursue litigation if Biden blocks the deal.
In the meantime, despite the ongoing opposition posed by the United Steelworkers (USW) union among others against the deal, Nippon Steel shared its commitment to keeping current USW-represented facilities operating well into the future with not less than $2.7 billion capital expenditure commitments, as SteelOrbis reported previously. The company also pledged that there will be no layoffs, plant idling, or plant closures as a result of the transaction.